Paper Dolls
by tenshi-no-akuma-81
Summary: The wizarding world is slowly falling into chaos but it wasn't caused by Voldemort. Akatsukki seems to have crossed the boundary and the wizards must fight fire with fire by hiring ninjas of their own.
1. The Faceless Men

**The first chapter of Paper Dolls. I promise that this one will turn out a lot better than my previous attempt. I have rewritten it to suite my new writing style and I hope it's up to your tastes.**

**I find disclaimers quite pointless as everyone knows that I totally own Harry Potter and Naruto. I mean, isn't, like so obvious?**

**There will, again be no pairings so please don't pester me to write any romance. There may be a few childish crushes but no actual love story.**

**The guards' codenames are the same as last time but I will post a list anyway.**

**Naruto: Fox**

**Sasuke: Raven**

**Sakura: Slug**

**Chouji: Bear**

**Shikamaru: Stag**

**Ino: Swan**

**Kiba: Dog**

**Shino: Beetle**

**Hinata: Mouse**

**Lee: Turtle**

**Neji: Hawk**

**Tenten: Panda**

The Faceless Men

Harry retreated further as the Dementor bore down upon him, panic fogging his brain - concentrate -A pair of grey, slimy, scabbed hands slid from inside the Dementor's robes, reaching for him. A rushing noise filled Harry's ears. _'Expecto patronum_!'His voice sounded dim and distant. Another wisp of silver smoke, feebler than the last, drifted from the wand - he couldn't do it anymore, he couldn't work the spell. There was laughter inside his own head, shrill, high-pitched laughter; he could smell the Dementor's putrid, death-cold breath filling his own lungs, drowning him – think something happy: But there was no happiness in him, the Dementor's icy fingers were closing on his throat - the high-pitched laughter was growing louder and louder, and a voice spoke inside his head, 'Bow to death, Harry: it might even be painless: I would not know: I have never died.'

He was never going to see Ron and Hermione again -And their faces burst clearly into his mind as he fought for breath. _'EXPECTO PATRONUM_!'An enormous silver stag erupted from the tip of Harry's wand; its antlers caught the Dementor in the place where the heart should have been; it was thrown backwards, weightless as darkness, and as the stag charged, the Dementor swooped away, bat-like and defeated. 'THIS WAY!' Harry shouted at the stag. Wheeling around, he sprinted down the alleyway, holding the lit wand aloft. 'DUDLEY? DUDLEY!'He had run barely a dozen steps when he reached them: Dudley was curled up on the ground, his arms clamped over his face. A second Dementor was crouching low over him, gripping his wrists in its slimy hands, prising them slowly almost lovingly apart, lowering its hooded head towards Dudley's face as though about to kiss him.

'GET IT!' Harry bellowed, and with a rushing, roaring sound, the silver stag he had conjured came galloping past him. The Dementor's eyeless face was barely an inch from Dudley's when the silver antlers caught it; the thing was thrown up into the air and, like its fellow, it soared away and was absorbed into the darkness; the stag cantered to the end of the alleyway and dissolved into silver mist.

Moon, stars and street lamps burst back into life. A warm breeze swept the alleyway. Trees rustled in neighbouring gardens and the mundane rumble of cars in Magnolia Crescent filled the air again. Harry stood quite still, all his senses vibrating, taking in the abrupt return to normality. After a moment, he became aware that his T-shirt was sticking to him; he was drenched in sweat. He could not believe what had just happened. Dementors here, in Little Whinging.

Dudley lay curled up on the ground, whimpering and shaking. Breathing heavily, Harry bent down to see whether he was in a fit state to walk but he stopped abruptly as he felt a cold breeze prickle against the back of his neck where the hairs stood on end.

'Are you Harry Potter?' a cool voice said.

Harry whirled around, wand in hand. A Death Eater stood a yard or so behind him, masked and cloaked. With a growl of frustration, Harry raised his wand and cried, '_Stupefy_!' but the spell deflected, a few centimeters away from the Death Eater's chest and smashed a street lamp behind Harry's ear. He had never seen any wizard do that before, not even Voldemort but it did not deter him and he raised his wand for another attack; however before he could so much as pronounce the first syllable for the spell, the wand was wrenched from his grip and a powerful force tightened around his neck, completely knocking out his breath.

'There will be no need of that,' Harry's capturer spoke in a higher voice and he assumed that she was female however it did not make her tone less threatening or frightening. Meanwhile her masked partner, strode closer and closer towards him; Harry struggled but the woman who had his neck was impossibly strong and within a few seconds, his right arm was twisted painfully behind his back; he tried to yell but a strip of cloth was stuffed in his mouth. Although he could no longer move or scream, he continued to glare at the Death Eater who walked right past him and his partner and bent down on one knee on the ground. Dudley gave a squeal of fright but the Death Eater said in a surprisingly soothing voice, 'Don't worry. I won't hurt you.'

Harry tried to yell, 'Don't listen to him, Dudley!' but his voice was muffled into the cloth and he continued to struggle and his right arm threatened to snap. The arm tightened on his neck and he was having difficulty to breathe. Harry stopped, his left arm dropping loosely against his side and he felt the woman's arm slacken, allowing air to fill his lungs.

'Calmed down a little bit?' the female said kindly and snatched the material from his mouth with a gloved hand. Dudley shot them one frightened look like a deer caught in headlights before collapsing on the pavement. The masked man sighed before turning him over until he lay flat on his back and felt his wrist for a pulse. Harry panted, taking deep breaths of air. He was wandless his life and the life of his cousin rested in the hands of two masked Death Eaters.

'_The boy is alive but unconscious_,' the male Death Eater said in a foreign language, '_I will have to carry him. _You are Harry Potter?'

'D-Depends on who's asking,' Harry gasped, trying to look more defiant than he actually felt.

'Don't give that attitude with me,' the Death Eater replied coolly, 'we are merely here under the orders of Dumbledore-sama.'

Harry froze. Death Eaters were here to capture him on Dumbledore's orders? 'B-But-.'

'Questions come later, Potter-san. You and your cousin have just experienced a terrible event, we must get you to your home first, he is not in a very mentally stable condition,' the masked man said. He bent and slung the giant form of his cousin onto his shoulder with obvious ease. The sight was rather odd as Dudley appeared to be at least three to four times larger although he did not appear to have any trouble supporting the massive weight of his cousin.

Harry was unsure of whether or not to believe them but he decided to lead them back to Privet Drive. If they had really been Death Eaters then they would've ran off with him as soon as the female had captured him around the neck. He was allowed his wand back, which made him feel a little safer but the journey back to Privet Drive was hardly pleasant and Harry felt on the verge of fainting just as Dudley had. Sweat glued his skin to the folds of his T-shirt as he imagined trying to explain to the Dursleys why he was in the company of two suspicious looking people who looked like obvious suspects of assassination. Speaking of assassination, Harry thought he saw a gleam from underneath the giant form of Dudley and realized that a long, thin sword was strapped to the man's back. The blade, itself was completely perfect and good as new however it was the worn and frayed handle that betrayed the sword's true age and it looked as if it'd been used quite often.

The Dursleys' house came into view far too quickly for his liking. Harry attempted to gulp but his saliva caught in his throat as if blocked off by a chunk of cement. The two masked figures walked so silently, if it had not been for the rustling of their cloaks, Harry would not have sensed their presence at all. Even when they reached the neatly mowed lawn, tended so carefully by Uncle Vernon and looked particularly forbidden to the two masked people who treaded across it without so much as a crunch. Harry followed them reluctantly and the female reached up, giving a few sharp raps on the door.

Harry closed his eyes, prepared for Aunt Petunia to throw open the door and scream so loudly until the entire neighborhood, including the old, half-deaf woman who lived on the very end of the street dialled their phones for the police.

Aunt Petunia's outline grew larger and larger, oddly distorted by the rippling glass in the front door. 'Diddy! About time too, I was-.' Aunt Petunia's reaction was not as Harry had expected but it was indeed just as bad. She caught sight of Dudley slung over the man's shoulder, looking quite lifeless and gave a shrill shriek. 'You killed him! You killed Dudders! Phone the police, Vernon! Phone the police!'

Uncle Vernon came galloping down the stairs and gave a cry of outrage at the sight of the two masked figures. 'Your son is quite alive-,' the man began but his voice was drowned out by Aunt Petunia's screaming and Uncle Vernon's yell of shock. He charged at them, brandishing a large kitchen knife but before it could make any contact with the man's flesh, it clanged loudly against something metal.

Harry blinked. The man had reacted so quickly that he did not even see him move. Harry caught sight of a strangely shaped black, metal blade mashed against the kitchen knife. With another swift movement the knife was sent flying out of Vernon Dursley's hands and buried itself in the floor behind Petunia.

'Stop,' the man's voice cut through the air like the knife and the Dursleys fell silent. Even Uncle Vernon's moustache had stopped quivering and Harry felt a shiver go up his spine. It was a frightening command and cold air seemed to blow in from the open door although it was indeed a warm summer night…

'Your son is alive, he has just been exposed to a magical battle,' the woman spoke, obviously trying to sound as gentle and calm as possible, 'he is a little unstable but he will be fine after some medical treatment. You should be glad, Potter-san saved him.'

Uncle Vernon's piggy black eyes darted back and forth between the two masked people and Harry who was finding his shoelaces very interesting at the current moment, unsure of what to do. Aunt Petunia continued to cower behind her husband. 'Well, we'll bring them in at least,' the female sighed and the two strode in quite casually, uninvited. The two Dursleys scrambled back out of their way and slammed the door quickly after them, afraid as usual of attracting unwanted attention. Neither his aunt or uncle showed any signs of moving at any time soon and Harry reluctantly accepted his duty of leading the two strangers, who looked really out of place in the Dursleys' over clean home into the living room. The man swung Dudley gently off his back and lay him down on one of the sofas which sagged dangerously under his enormous weight.

The Dursleys exchanged frightened looks but followed them nervously and Aunt Petunia immediately rushed to her son's side looking extremely pale. Uncle Vernon settled awkwardly in a single armchair by the fireplace and Harry instead chose to stand. The two masked people also showed no signs of sitting down and instead stood quite nonchalantly while Aunt Petunia fussed over Dudley. Uncle Vernon finally found his voice. 'Who are you? I demand you to explain what has happened to my son,' he said firmly, looking quite threatening and ready to leap at them.

'We cannot give you our real names unless under specific orders from our superiors but I can tell you our codenames,' the man said, 'my name is Hawk and this is Panda,' he indicated the female beside him who inclined her head briefly.

Harry heard Uncle Vernon mutter something like, 'Bloody lunatics… think their part of the army do they? Code names…honestly…'

If Hawk and Panda could hear him, they ignored the comment and Hawk continued on, 'Go upstairs, Potter-san and pack your trunk. Bring all your school things, you're coming with us.' Harry found himself obeying his orders without really thinking and it wasn't until he was back in his tiny bedroom that he begin to question his purpose for going upstairs. Harry sat down quietly onto his bed; outside it had started to grow dark and he could hear the Hawk and Panda explaining the events of the night to his aunt and uncle although he could not catch a word. After a few minutes of just sitting and staring into space, Harry stood slowly to his feet and began stuffing clothes and books inside his trunk like a zombie. He did not pay any attention to the task at hand and finally, placing the last item- his telescope inside, he slammed it shut and balanced Hedwig's empty cage on top.

The sound of footsteps were beginning to start up the stairs and Harry's bedroom door was thrown open, revealing Panda, she had purposely put more pressure on the steps while she was walking to acknowledge her presence. 'Hawk has explained everything to your uncle and aunt. Are you ready?' Harry nodded and with strength that should be superhuman for any woman- or man at that matter, she picked up his trunk as easily as Hawk had Dudley and it swung quite loosely from her hand. Thank goodness there were very few objects in Harry's room or else she'd already have knocked over half of them. Harry hastily grabbed Hedwig's cage and followed her downstairs where Hawk was waiting with Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia. Dudley was still unconscious when Hawk bowed towards both of them, saying something that Harry could not hear and swiftly joined them at the doorway.

'Got everything, Potter-san?' Hawk asked as they entered out into the warm air. Harry gave a small mumbled, 'yes'. 'Very well, this letter is for you,' Hawk continued, 'it was delivered here by owl a few minutes ago.' A small envelope was passed into Harry's hands which he immediately ripped open.

_Dear Mr. Potter, _

_We have received intelligence that you performed the Patronus Charm at twenty-three minutes past nine this evening in a Muggle-inhabited area and in the presence of a Muggle. This was shortly followed at 9:30 by a Stunning Spell, in the presence of the same Muggle. The seventy of this breach of the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery has resulted in your expulsion from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Ministry representatives will be calling at your place of residence shortly to destroy your wand. As you have already received an official warning for a previous offence under Section I3 of the Inter-national Confederation of Warlocks' Statute of Secrecy, we regret to inform you that your presence is required at a disciplinary hearing at the Ministry __of Magic at 9 AM on the twelfth of August. _

_Hoping you are well, yours sincerely, Mafalda Hopkirk Improper Use of Magic Office Ministry of Magic._

Harry read the letter through twice, his hands shaking. The words were written quite clearly in black ink but Harry still refused to believe it. The wet cement in his throat earlier seemed to harden and settle very uncomfortably somewhere in the back of his neck.

'You can ponder its contents latter, Potter-san,' Panda said, the trunk still swinging absently from her hand, 'we're in quite a hurry.'

Hawk bent onto one knee and said very quickly in a forced voice, 'Get on my back.'

'What?' Harry was sure he misheard him.

'I said,' Hawk said through clenched teeth as if it was embarrassing enough saying it for the first time, 'Get. On. My. Back. We are running to Headquarters.'

Harry clambered awkwardly onto the man's back and was surprised to feel hardened muscle underneath the cloak. No wonder, he'd been able to lift Dudley so easily. He could also feel the cool sword, pressing uncomfortably against his chest and quickly shifted to another position, however it did not change his comfort very much. Hawk picked up Harry's Firebolt in his left hand and Hedwig's cage in his right before saying, 'Hold on tight.'

Harry had just enough time to grab around Hawk's neck before he felt himself shooting into the air at incredible speed and landing on the neighbor's fence. Wind wailed in his ears and in seconds, the fenced was cleared and they were shooting through empty space once more. They were going faster than a car, even faster than a broom; the best description would be a roller coaster except with no supports.

Harry closed his eyes tightly and buried his face in Hawk's cloak, his heart racing and an unwanted amount of adrenaline filled his body, his stomach dropped, every time they went plummeting towards the ground. The impact as they hit a surface would jolt Hawk's sword painfully against his shoulder and the ride was overall terrifying even with his eyes tightly shut.

Harry was unsure of just how long they'd been "running" but it felt like hours. There was a time when he had heard the splashing of water and briefly opened his eyes to see Panda running on the large outstretch of black lake in front of them, Harry's things still in her hands. He would've asked Hawk how they did it but, he felt that if he opened his mouth, he'd empty the few pieces of cake he had eaten all over his cloak and Harry doubted that Hawk would take it so kindly if he suddenly vomited onto his back.

When they finally landed, Harry thought he'd never been more relieved in his life. He got of Hawk's back, the invitation to throw up had never been more inviting and perhaps Hawk noticed because he pointed over at a bunch of close knit shrubs, 'Do it over there.' When Harry had vomited to his own content, he stumbled back towards the two masked figures, feeling a little wobbly at the knees.

Shivering, Harry looked around. The grimy fronts of the surrounding houses were not welcoming; some of them had broken windows, glimmering dully in the light from the streetlamps, paint was peeling from many of the doors and heaps of rubbish lay outside several sets of front steps. Hawk and Panda looked hardly affected by the unpleasant journey at all; they were not even puffing despite the hours of running whilst carrying large packages.

'Where are we?' Harry asked but Hawk was already rummaging through the depths of his large cloak.

'Read this quickly and memorise it,' Hawk said impatiently, shoving a scrap of parchment into his hands. Harry read it through a few times; the narrow handwriting was vaguely familiar.

It said: _The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, London._

'What's the Order of the -?' Harry began.

'Wait until we are inside, Potter-san, we may still be watched,' Panda said.

Harry looked around at the houses again. They were standing outside number eleven; he looked to the left and saw number ten; to the right, however, was number thirteen. 'But where's -?'

'Think about what you have just memorised, Potter-san,' Hawk said. Harry thought, and no sooner had he reached the part about number twelve, Grimmauld Place, than a battered door emerged out of nowhere between numbers eleven and thirteen, followed swiftly by dirty walls and grimy windows. It was as though an extra house had inflated, pushing those on either side out of its way. Harry gaped at it. The stereo in number eleven thudded on. Apparently the Muggles inside hadn't felt anything.

'Hurry up, Potter-san, we cannot be outside for long,' Panda called, they were already at the doorstep. Harry walked up the worn stone steps, staring at the newly materialized door. Its black paint was shabby and scratched. The silver doorknocker was in the form of a twisted serpent. There was no key-hole or letterbox. Panda lifted the doorknocker and gave three short raps; there was silence for a few seconds before Harry heard the sound of running footsteps and the nest moment, the door was thrown open by Ron's mother.

Mrs. Weasely's eyes widened slightly but the next second the shock was gone and Harry was pulled into a rib cracking hug. 'Oh, Harry! It's so good to see you again but why are you so early? We didn't expect to see you so soon!'

'We ran,' Hawk said bluntly while Panda hauled Harry's things over the crumbly steps.

'You ran!' Mrs. Weasely said incredulously, 'oh… um… well we'd better get you inside…'She looked uncomfortable and Harry noticed that she refused to look directly at Hawk and Panda in the face… or mask rather. Harry stepped over the threshold into the almost total darkness of the hall. He could smell damp, dust and a sweetish, rotting smell; the place had the feeling of a derelict building.

'Follow me, Harry, dear,' Mrs. Weasely said, leading him down the dark hallway. A cobwebby chandelier glimmered overhead and age-blackened portraits hung crooked on the walls. Harry heard something scuttling behind the skirting board. Both the chandelier and the candelabra on a rickety table nearby were shaped like serpents.

As they reached the end of the hallway, Panda and Hawk stopped, turning to a second corridor joined at the right, 'Well, we'll be going to the meeting now, Weasely-san,' Hawk said dismissively.

Harry noticed that Mrs. Weasely looked slightly relieved although she tried to hide it, 'OK. I'll just show Harry upstairs…,' she led Harry up an old, rickety staircase, 'come on, Harry, dear… Ron and Hermione are waiting up here but keep your voice down…'

The meetings of the Order of the Phoenix were held at the last room at the very end of the corridor. Hawk and Panda silently slipped in where several people sat lined up along the dining table. Mad Eye Moody sat on the first seat to the right, followed by Remus Lupin who was as pale and shabby as ever and Sirius who was gloomy, his skin turning slightly grey from little contact to sunlight finally ending at Mr. Weasely who was finding a spot on the table particularly interesting; on the left was Turtle who looked serious and sombre, unlike himself and two seats down Severus Snape glared venomously at the two new arrivals with so much contempt, the wall behind them dissolved with acid; Minerva McGonagall also looked at the two masked figures suspiciously but did not comment, Mundungus Fletcher reeked of smoke and alcohol which particularly affected the ninjas' sensitive noses even from the distance, finally with Tonks sitting at the end of the table.

'Potter-san has been delivered safely, he has gone upstairs with Weasely-san,' Hawk said and many members of the order suppressed sighs of relief as to not offend the ninjas. They took seats beside Turtle; Snape shuffled a tiny centimetre to the left although it went unnoticed by the untrained eye.

'_Anything we missed?_' Hawk muttered, leaning a little over towards Turtle.

'_Nothing much, Voldemort hasn't even started to move yet, we were just discussing strategies to prepare for an attack._'

'_Bet you had a lot to offer, huh? Shikamaru should be here, he loves this sort of stuff.'_

'So what did you think of Harry?' Lupin asked as Mrs. Weasely opened the door silently and slipped into a seat beside her husband.

'He looks scrawny, not quite what I expect a "wizarding hero" to look like,' Hawk replied bluntly.

'Say what you want about him but Harry is the only one destined to bring down Voldemort,' Sirius said, glaring at the ninjas. It was obvious that most of the wizarding members had not accepted the ninjas' position in the Order despite Dumbledore's trust placed on them.

'Voldemort, like the rest of us has his weaknesses,' Hawk replied coolly, 'he is not invincible. However, as second in command and Captain of ANBU Team 9, I feel that it is my duty to inform you that there are more threats out there then your little Orochimaru wannabe.'

'What do you mean?' Professor McGonagall said, frowning.

'Back in my country, an infamous organization known as Akatsuki has started to make suspicious movements. Many of them have started disappearing for long periods of time, searches have been made but they appear to have disappeared off the face of the earth. They always reappear, weeks later, however we have been unsuccessful in discovering the reason towards their disappearance,' Hawk explained, 'we are ninjas, McGonagall-san. We can track almost anyone in the world, although the Akatsuki have always been unnaturally strong and more proficient, we have always been able to at least, keep track of their movement but there is one place that remains untraceable towards ninja.'

An uncomfortable silence followed Hawk's speech. 'So that is why you accepted the mission,' Lupin said quietly, after a few seconds of processing the information, 'because you think that this…organization has been making regular trips to the wizarding world?'

'The leaders of the five nations have agreed upon that conclusion but ninjas have always been forbidden to go into the wizarding world, as you are forbidden to enter the shinobi countries,' Panda continued, 'it is almost impossible for a wizard to enter the five nations but when he or she does, we will always have that person tortured and killed- strengthening our defenses every time a break in occurs although this was a special case. Hokage-sama saw this as an opportunity to finally enter the wizarding world and further investigate Akatsuki's suspicious movements and we have recently found evidence to support our theory.'

'Evidence?'

'Amongst our group, we have Swan, a tracker ninja,' Hawk explained, 'she sensed unfamiliar chakra signatures, extremely powerful ones somewhere in London. We were at first, unsure to assume whether it was indeed Akatsuki or some other ninja who have entered the wizarding world so we sent a battalion of our best ANBU to investigate. They never returned however Swan stated that their chakra signatures had completely disappeared so we can safely assume that they are dead. There is only one group alive who has been able to bring down a whole battalion of our best ninjas with such ease. Currently, we are unsure of the Akatsuki's objective in the wizarding world, there seems nothing to gain from entering this society that would benefit the Akatsuki's goals.'

'Now that you speak of it, Voldemort himself has made no large movements we are concerned about,' Mr. Weasely said, 'however Lucius Malfoy and sometimes other Death Eaters have made regular journeys to London, more so than usual. We did not see this as suspicious because it was nearing the start of term for Hogwarts students and many of the Death Eaters have children that attend Hogwarts.'

'So in other words, you are after some crackpot organization from your world,' Sirius said blandly, 'how can we put our trust into you that you will indeed place all your concentration in protecting Harry if you're busy hunting after a bunch of over powerful, criminal ninjas?'

'Black-san,' Turtle said, speaking for the first time, 'do not worry, although tracing Akatsuki's movements are indeed important, a ninja will always do everything within his or her power to complete the assigned mission. Rest assured that Potter-san is in good hands.'

However Sirius did not look convinced and neither did many of the other members of the Order. 'That's all well and good,' Snape sneered, 'but you seem to have forgotten your place, ninjas. We do not usually allow your kind to cross into our territory; Dumbledore has only made an exception for your lot only because he believed that you could provide a better protection for the school and for Potter. How can we allow you to continue to stay here when you have just told us that you are only here for your own benefits?'

'This is not only for ourselves, Snape-san,' Hawk said coldly, eyes narrowing slightly, 'it is also in the best interests of your society. There is no wizard alive who is strong enough to deal with even a single Akatsuki member, not even Voldemort or Dumbledore-sama, let alone a whole organization. Besides your kind is more suited for stick duels, you are untrained and inexperienced in dealing with ninja battles and whoever or whatever Akatsuki wants from your world, I doubt they will take it slowly and kindly. Your kind will be killed off one by one and anyone who stands in their way will be eliminated. They must be stopped and we are the only ones who can do it.'

'He does have a point, Severus,' Mad Eye Moody growled, 'we need a clearer view of this…Akatsuki. They can indeed prove a new threat to us and we need to keep an eye out for them. But what worries me is what Arthur mentioned earlier, something about Lucius Malfoy making regular trips to London?'

'I have tried to track him but it would arouse too much suspicion if I was to follow him everywhere but he has made a lot of journeys inside the Ministry of Magic on his resting days,' Mr. Weasely said, 'are you stating that he could secretly be making contact with Akatsuki?'

'But if he's making contact with the Akatsuki, doesn't that mean that this dangerous organization is allying with Voldemort?' Tonks piped up.

'It is unlikely,' Hawk said, surprising the wizards, 'I have met a few Akatsuki members in the past- none of the meetings, I assure you were pleasant,' he said darkly, 'they are a very cautious bunch, even for ninjas and we know very little about them. However I know enough to say confidently that they are an organization that prefers to work on their own. The few ninjas or groups that have ever "allied" with Akatsuki have all been extremely powerful rogue ninjas but they were just played with like puppets. If Akatsuki truly is working for Voldemort, then they must think that he would have something that would help achieve their goals. He would be used just like all the other puppets.'

The fact that the most powerful Dark wizard that the wizarding world had ever known could be so easily manipulated by this new threat was a frightening and clearly shocking aspect that hung over the Order like a rain cloud. The end of the meeting was one of the least pleasant that they had ever experienced and the wizards exited the meeting room, carrying the burden of the new information on their cloaks.

**First chapter! Hope you enjoyed it! Tomorrow's my birthday, I'm turning 15! Your reviews and suggestions will be the best present of all! Also I made Ino a tracker ninja, I always thought the role suited her, is it weird?**


	2. Piling Snow

**This story wasn't as popular as my previous, ha-ha. I guess people prefer clichés after all but I'll still be continuing. Please review, it tells me that you want me to continue. Many thanks to my 10 reviewers by the way. I hope that this chapter will be a little bit more popular.**

**Oh, and by the way. To all you people out there, I'm sorry I but I can't review your stories at the current moment. I've been banned from the computer, the most I can do is check my emails and I use that as an excuse to copy your stories onto an USB and read it on my school laptop. Fanfiction is blocked on it. If you do get a review from me, you should be very flattered that I used up my 5 minutes for you! However if you don't, that doesn't mean I dislike your story. I just don't have very much to say or I don't have the time so please don't take it too personally.**

English

_Japanese/Foreign Language/Written Test/Emphasis _

'Speech'

Piling Snow

Please read the Author's Note.

Dinner was, to the very least... extremely awkward.

Harry thought that he'd ought to be a lot happier with his best friends, his godfather and Ron's family who he pretty much thought of as his own relatives, sitting around him, eating Mrs. Weasely's delicious homemade cooking.

Yes, Harry thought he'd be quite content, except with one little down side. No one was laughing, and they had barely touched their food. Ron to his left, playing half heartedly with his steak and kidney pie, Hermione sucked the sauce of her fork but her food was barely touched. Sirius kept sending mistrustful glares at the three masked people; the third member had previously been introduced as Turtle. They had their masks lifted slightly, revealing only their moving lips that chewed silently on the food, completely oblivious to the heavy tension around the table.

'Who made this food?' Turtle asked, suddenly. At once the tension was broken, as if someone had grabbed a pair of scissors and cut a tightrope, causing everyone to jump.

'I-I did,' Mrs. Weasely said uncertainly.

'The meat you make is very good,' Turtle said, chewing on some sausages, 'but your vegetables are very plain. Don't you add any special sauce to make it taste good?'

'Well-err- usually we just eat them like this,' Mr. Weasely said quickly, 'we like to eat it this way. Of course, if you have a problem, we can always-.'

'No, no, it's fine,' Turtle said, spearing a piece of steamed broccoli, (everyone noticeably winced), and stuffing it between his lips, 'just making a few suggestions to the cook.'

'_Like you can speak,'_ Hawk said, switching back to Japanese so the wizards were shunted out of the conversation, '_that stuff that you and Gai-sensei make is disgusting so don't go go complaining now. Remember, they still don't trust us and we're supposed to be getting on their good side.'_

'_Don't insult Gai-sensei's cooking!'_ Turtle argued back. Although the wizards had not a clue of what they were saying, they still recognised the rise in the ninjas' voices and sensed an argument coming. Harry turned back to his untouched stew and began spooning it into his mouth gingerly '_That's not very youthful. Besides, I was just giving some suggestions.'_

'_Stop this, the both of you,'_ Panda said, sending a glare at her two male teammates. It would've been a lot more effective if they could actually see her face but Hawk and Turtle knew enough from her tone to shut up and turn back to their food.

'So-err- Panda,' Hermione said reluctantly, targeting the ninja who looked the friendliest, 'w-whereabouts are you from?'

'We have already told you- we are from Japan,' Panda replied.

'Which city?'

Panda glanced sideways, taking a sip of coffee from her mug, 'Why do you want to know?'

'Well, I-I just wanted to k-know a little about your backgrounds,' Hermione said nervously. Panda opened her mouth but it was Hawk who replied.

'That information is confidential,' Hawk said with a sense of finality in his tone that Hermione didn't seem to recognise.

'Then why-.'

'That's enough, Hermione,' Mrs. Weasely said firmly, 'it's getting late, you children should go up to bed.'

'Not just yet, Molly' said Sirius, pushing away his empty plate and turning to look at Harry. 'You know, I'm surprised at you. I thought the first thing you'd do when you got here would be to start asking questions about Voldemort. '

The atmosphere in the room changed with the rapidity Harry associated with the arrival of Dementors. Where seconds before it had been sleepily relaxed, it was now alert, even tense. A frisson had gone around the table at the mention of Voldemort name. Lupin, who had been about to take a sip of wine, lowered his goblet slowly, looking wary. 'I did!' said Harry indignantly. 'I asked Ron and Hermione but they said we're not allowed in the Order, so -.'

'And they're quite right, ' said Mrs. Weasely. 'You're too young. 'She was sitting bolt upright in her chair, her fists clenched on its arms.

'Since when did someone have to be in the Order of the Phoenix to ask questions?' asked Sirius. 'Harry's been trapped in that Muggle house for a month. He's got the right to know what's been happen-'

'Hang on!' interrupted George loudly.

'How come Harry gets his questions answered?' said Fred angrily.

'We've been trying to get stuff out of you for a month and you haven't told us a single stinking thing!' said George.'

'You're too young, you're not in the Order, ' said Fred, in a high-pitched voice that sounded uncannily like his mother's. 'Harry's not even of age!'

'It's not my fault you haven't been told what the Order's doing, ' said Sirius calmly, 'that's your parents' decision. Harry, on the other hand -'

'It's not down to you to decide what's good for Harry!' said Mrs. Weasely sharply. The expression on her normally kind face looked dangerous. 'You haven't forgotten what Dumbledore said, I suppose?'

'Which bit?' Sirius asked politely, but with the air of a man readying himself for a fight. The bit about not telling Harry more than he needs to know, ' said Mrs. Weasely, placing a heavy emphasis on the last three words. Ron, Hermione, Fred and George's heads swiveled from Sirius to Mrs. Weasely as though they were following a tennis rally. Ginny was kneeling amid a pile of abandoned Butterbeer corks, watching the conversation with her mouth slightly open. Lupin's eyes were fixed on Sirius.

'I don't intend to tell him more than he needs to know, Molly, ' said Sirius. 'But as he was the one who saw Voldemort come back' (again, there was a collective shudder around the table at the name) 'he has more right than most to –.'

'He's not a member of the Order of the Phoenix!' said Mrs. Weasely. 'He's only fifteen and -'

'And he's dealt with as much as most in the Order, ' said Sirius, 'and more than some. '

'No one's denying what he's done!' said Mrs. Weasely, her voice rising, her fists trembling on the arms of her chair. 'But he's still -'

'He's not a child!' said Sirius impatiently. 'He's not an adult either!' said Mrs. Weasely, the colour rising in her cheeks. 'He's not James, Sirius!'

There was a small, clear cough that brought the wizards back into the real world, outside the argument and for the first time in a few minutes; Mrs. Weasely and Sirius remembered the ninjas' presence. 'I agree with Molly-san...partially. It is not a question of Harry's age but his mentality, he is not yet capable enough to carry the weight of this burden,' Hawk said blandly, folding his arms as if this was the final decision.

'What are you talking about?' Harry demanded angrily, 'I am perfectly capable! Do you know how much I've been through? Well, no you don't, so you're in no place to tell me what to do.'

A pause followed Harry's angry statement where Hawk stared at him quite blankly. The wizards shot Harry tense looks; no one had ever contradicted a ninja before.

'You're right, I don't,' Hawk said bluntly, 'I don't know what you've been through and I don't care. I know enough to conclude that all of you-,' he pointed at Fred and George, Hermione, Ron and Ginny, his gloved finger finally landed on Harry, 'are sheltered brats who don't know what they're getting into. Oh, and I know what you're going to say,' he added sharply when Harry, Fred and George opened their mouths to yell an angry protest, 'I'm wrong? You have no idea, how surprisingly accurate I am.'

None of them budged and continued to send defiant glares at the positioned Order and the three ninjas. 'Harry is very responsible,' Sirius snapped, 'and you can hardly speak yourself, you're hardly older than h-.'

'That's enough, Black-san,' Turtle interrupted, glaring at Sirius who had stood up, knocking his chair to the ground, 'you are giving away confidential information. Remember our contract. If you are to break it, we will kill every one of you without hesitation, right here and right now.'

An icy gale blew across the room, freezing them in place. Sirius continued to glare for a second before his expression reluctantly softened, repositioning his chair and sitting down with unnecessary force. 'I still think Harry has a right to have an idea, at least.'

'But I wasn't finished, Black-san,' Hawk said calmly, 'I only said that I _partially _agreed with Molly-san. Harry is stupid and naive; it is indeed true; he is not ready to join the Order, at least. However, I too feel as if Harry should join in... but no more than necessary. You may stay, Harry.'

Harry felt his heart leap in excitement. Finally...after all those weeks of waiting and not knowing... he was finally going to get some information.

'Very well, ' said Mrs. Weasely, her voice cracking. 'Ginny -Ron - Hermione - Fred - George - I want you out of this kitchen, now.'

There was instant uproar.

'We're of age!' Fred and George bellowed together.

'If Harry's allowed, why can't I?' shouted Ron.

'Mum, I want to hear!' wailed Ginny.

'NO!' shouted Mrs. Weasely, standing up, her eyes over-bright. 'I absolutely forbid -.'

'Molly, you can't stop Fred and George, ' said Mr. Weasely wearily. They are of age. 'They're still at school, but they're legally adults now.'

Mrs. Weasely was now scarlet in the face. 'I - oh, all right then, Fred and George can stay, but Ron -'

'Harry'll tell me and Hermione everything you say anyway!' said Ron hotly. 'Won't - won't you?' he added uncertainly, meeting Harry's eyes. For a split second, Harry considered, saying no. He wanted to give Ron a taste of being kept in the dark, and then perhaps he would understand.

'Of course I will,' Harry said finally and Ron and Hermione beamed at him.

'Fine,' Mrs. Weasely breathed and Harry swore that steam came out of her nostrils, 'Fine. Ginny, bed. Now.'

Ginny did not go quietly and they could hear her stomping up the stairs, raging insults at her mother. When she reached the hall, Mrs. Black began screaming again and Lupin ran after her to restore calm. It wasn't until he had returned to the kitchen that Sirius said, 'Alright, Harry, what do you want to know?'

'We can't guarantee answers, though,' Mr. Weasely added.

Harry immediately began blasting off questions about Voldemort which they answered quite calmly until Mrs. Weasely snapped, cutting across Sirius firmly.

'You've told him more than enough,' Mrs. Weasely huffed, looking furious, 'any more information and you might as well induct him into the Order straightaway.'

'And why not?' Harry said quickly, 'I want to join; I want to fight.'

'We have been through this before, Potter-kun,' Turtle said, sighing, 'you are incapable of handling the responsibility. Besides, you are still at school. The Order needs to constantly stay on the watch and be ready for action. You can't just leave Hogwarts whenever you feel like it when there's an emergency call.'

'What about you?' Harry said hotly, 'you're only just a muggle! Why are those three allowed to be in the Order? They're not even wizards!'

'You're right, Potter-san,' Hawk said coldly, 'we aren't wizards and we never wish to be compared to such a race. We are proud ninjas.'

'Ninjas?' Harry asked and was once again curious, anger shunted to one side. Noticeably, the members of the Order turned stony faced and looked uncomfortable.

'Potter-san, we will be your guards this year,' Panda said, stepping forward, looking very business-like, 'I hope we will get along and that you'll cooperate with us.'

'You expect me to cooperate!' Harry repeated angrily, 'I don't need guards!'

'Look what happened this summer even after all the protection Dumbledore provided you with,' Lupin said grimly, 'they were a last resort of defence.'

'Then how will they attend the Order meetings if they're constantly staying at Hogwarts to ensure Harry's protection?' Hermione said.

'There are more of us,' Hawk said. 'More of us, back at your school at this very moment. We are only one team of ninjas assigned to protect Harry until he gets onto the Hogwarts Express.'

There were more? Harry thought, feeling his heart sink. Just how many guards did he need?

'Of to bed then,' Molly interrupted, staring around at Ron, Hermione, Fred and George and Ginny and the five of them dashed off to the stairs. Harry hesitated then made to follow them but Hawk stopped him.

'Potter-san, just a moment, please. We have one last thing to tell you,' he said quietly.

'What?' Harry said.

'Watch your back. Voldemort and is minions won't be the only obstacle.'

Harry looked confused. 'Who else do I have to watch out for?'

'That's classified information,' Hawk replied in low tones, 'just watch your back.'

'I know that already but how can I watch my back if you won't even tell me who I'm supposed to be looking out for?' Harry said, feeling very annoyed.

'Just watch your back.'

Harry ascended the stairs, feeling furious enough to grab that rusty sword that was hanging on the wall beside the rusty staircase and shove it between the ninjas' eyes.

'No talking,' Hawk said sharply before shutting the door silently behind Harry and Ron. The bedroom they shared was even gloomier than Harry had first seen it and the single, previously empty portrait hanging above them breathed heavily as if the occupant was asleep. Harry took of his glasses, replaced his clothes with pajamas and climbed reluctantly into the chilly bed that seemed to provided more cold than warmth while Ron threw a few Owl Treats up onto the wardrobe where Hedwig and Pigwidgeon were clattering around restlessly.

'We can't let them out to hunt every night,' Ron explained as the rustling of feathers settled down a little, 'Dumbledore says it'll look too suspicious if there are too many owls flying around the square. So anyway, what do you reckon?'

'Well, they didn't tell us much of what we'd hadn't already guessed ourselves,' Harry said, 'I mean, all they said was that the Order was trying to get people to stop joining Vol-.'

Ron gave a sharp intake of breath.

'-demort,' Harry finished firmly, 'when will you start using the name? Sirius and Lupin say it.'

Ron ignored the last comment, 'Yeah, you're right. We already heard almost every-mpfh!' Harry slammed a hand over his friend's mouth, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. There was someone else in the room.

'I told you not to talk,' came Hawk's icy voice, thick with all sorts of threats, 'Turtle has already caught your twin brothers and Panda has separated the two idiotic girls.'

'Oh, why do we have to get the scary guard?' Ron said, looking up terrified at Hawk, whose porcelain mask floated like a disembodied head in the darkness. Moonlight gleamed off the surface, dancing around the painted yellow beak and the bird looked almost real for a moment.

'Here's the deal,' Hawk said, smiling evilly, although thankfully no one could see it or else Ron and Harry would be completely petrified, 'this is a kunai,' he drew out the same strangely shaped black knife that he had used to defend himself from Uncle Vernon from the depths of his cloak and hung it on a hook on the wardrobe. He tapped the handle of the kunai with two fingers and what appeared to be a string of glowing blue, as thin as a hair connected from it, Hawk reached out and poked the sides of Harry and Ron's lips; they could feel their cheeks tingling where he had touched them. 'If you two speak again, your jaw muscles will move- my chakra strings will react and the kunai will fly at your throats. The result won't be pretty and I don't want to be responsible for cleaning the blood off the sheets,' Harry and Ron froze, not even daring to breathe. Needless to say, neither of them moved, or said a word to each other for the rest of the night.

'_Wasn't that a little too much_? _Dumbledore-sama told us to keep them alive_' Panda said as Hawk emerged from the bedroom door.

'_I was only joking_,' Hawk said blandly, closing the door behind him, '_at least, this will keep the brats quiet. 3...2...1_.' He snapped his fingers and from the room he had just left, there was a thud as the kunai dropped harmlessly, piercing through the wood and creating a dent in the floor.

Panda shook her head, '_You really are the most sadistic bastard I've ever met._'

'_You forgot Uchiha,'_ Hawk reminded her.

The next morning was hardly as pleasant as the previous night. Even without the presence of the ninja guards, who had disappeared somewhere; Harry barely had time to enjoy his breakfast of scrambled eggs on toast before he was dragged downstairs by Ron and Hermione to join Mrs. Weasely, Fred and George and Ginny in their battle with the Doxy infestations on the first floor. The carpet exhaled little clouds of dust every time someone stepped on it and the long, moss green curtains were buzzing as if swarmed with invisible bees.

Everyone was dressed in a peculiar fashion with cloths tied around their noses and mouths, each person carried a bottle of black liquid with a nozzle at the end.

'Cover your faces and grab a bottle of Doxycide,' Mrs. Weasely said, the moment she saw them. She pointed at two more bottles of black liquid and two facial masks lying on a nearby stool, 'I've never seen an infestation this bad. What that house elf has been doing for the past 10 years-.'

Hermione's face was half concealed by a tea towel but Harry could still distinctly see her shoot a reproachful look at Mrs. Weasely.

A Doxy appeared to be a small, fairy like creature, its body covered with thick, black hair, its face contorted in fury, baring sharp, needle like teeth. Harry raised his bottle, taking a deep breath of the old cloth that smelt strongly of mothballs and sprayed it right in the face. Immediately its face relaxed and it collapsed with a groan on the floor.

'Fred, what are you doing?' Mrs. Weasely said sharply, 'spray it at once and put it in the bin.' Harry turned around and spotted Fred holding a struggling Doxy between his thumb and forefinger.

'Right-o,' Fred said, raising the bottle and sprayed the Doxy in the face but when Mrs. Weasely turned her back on them, Harry saw his hand slip the limp body inside his pocket.

Thudding issued from the next room and he could distinctly hear voices although he could not recognize any of the words. It took a second for Harry to recognize the words as Japanese and pressed his ear to the wall. The three ninjas were in the room beside them.

'_Konoha Reppu!_'

There was an ear-piercing crash as the wall behind Harry collapsed, breaking into a hundred tiny pieces. He could hear Hermione and Ginny scream as wood splinters flew through the air, burying inside his skin painfully. Behind him, Ron and Fred also gave similar cries of pain as the shower of wood hit them and Mrs. Weasely whirled around, armed with a Doxy spray in her left hand and her wand in her right hand. Harry thought she looked rather threatening.

When the cloud of wood dust had cleared, revealing wood, stone and brick rubble, a sheepish Turtle appeared from the gap in the wall. Behind him, Panda was yelling angrily in Japanese and Hawk had a 'you idiot' look on his face. Even the wizards could tell with his mask on, simply from his glaring eyes.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Fred and George could do nothing but gape, if this was an anime, their jaws would crash through the floor, creating an even larger hole in the process. Mrs. Weasely looked angry enough and her eyes almost seemed to shoot sparks the way her wand did.

Turtle rubbed the back of his neck nervously, 'Sorry? They sure have some crappy walls around here.'

**Well, that's done. I'll try to make my updates as fast as possible. I've recently been struck with a bout of writer's block for Replacement Teachers? Don't worry, I will still be continuing but it would really help me update faster if you can tell me a few suggestions in events for Ino's lesson. Thank you once again in advance.**


	3. Lessons Learned

**Hey guys! I will be updating Paper Dolls a lot more than Replacement Teachers. The reason is I'm currently stuck on the story and I need your help for it. I already have most of Paper Dolls planned out which is why I will be adding chapters more often. Please give me suggestions for Replacement Teachers otherwise the updates will be even slower and I don't want the story to suck or anything.**

**So post in your suggestions for Ino's lesson! I will definitely give you credit for your ideas!**

**Thank you to all my kind reviewers! I would give a list but you all know by now that I'm a lazy ass. -.-**

**If you still need to refer to the characters' code names, they're in the first chapter.**

Lessons Learned 

The man skidded to a halt, slipping slightly in the mud. He collapsed to his knees, a black cloak strewn with blood and dirt pooled at his feet, breathing heavily and gripping a bloody stump that was all that now remained of his left hand. He gave a hacking cough and his remaining hand immediately leapt to his mouth where blood had begun to spurt out. Rain beat mercilessly on his wretched form, mixing in with the dirt and sending small rivers down his back. A crack from a stray twig somewhere behind him, snapped him to his senses and he whirled around, slightly tinged red rain dripping steadily from his shaven chin, his blue eyes wide like a deer caught in headlights. A person, dressed completely in an ankle length, black cloak had appeared. A narrow hood covered most of the top of his head and what little was shown from beneath the depths were covered by a porcelain mask of some kind of bird.

'Ah, tired already? It's been what? Twenty minutes? Tut-tut, so out of shape,' the masked man said, his voice slightly mocking as he stepped slowly towards the man, taking a lot of unnecessary to make his presence even more foreboding, 'oh well, you did ten minutes better than your companion.' What little colour that had remained in the man's face drained completely as the faint light gleamed dully off the silver sword, where a fresh stain had formed halfway up from the tip.

'Y-You killed Walters?' the man stammered, his terrified eyes glued to the blood stained sword which was still steadily dripping scarlet droplets. The silence that followed spoke more than any answer as the hooded figure closed in on him until they were barely a metre apart, towering over his helpless prey.

'I am feeling surprisingly kind today so I will give you a chance,' he replied a deadly venomous voice, 'you may come with me quietly or you may struggle. Either way, there is no chance of escape for you. Wizards have grown too reliant on their puny sticks for far too long and now that I have severed your dominant hand, you cannot even do that annoying little apparating trick anymore. I will leave those options to you.'

There was a pause where the man doubled over, a second round of blood clogging up his throat and another stream of blood sprayed the splotchy mud. He raised his head, eyes suddenly defiant and laughed. The laughter was hardly humorous and sounded somewhat wild and deranged. When he finally spoke, his voice was weak and hoarse; merely forcing words from his damaged throat was excruciatingly painful. 'Kid, I'll give you a credit for being able to kill Walters but you've got nothing on the Dark Lord. The Dark Lord's wrath is a hundred times more frightening than yours! Don't be so cocky, brat!' he spat, 'you're getting ahead of yourself; if it's my death you wish for than take my head right here and now! I would rather die at the hands of an enemy than face the wrath of the Dark L-'

He was knocked short as a gloved fist smashed into his jaw, snapping his head sideways. The Death Eater collapsed completely, his eyes rolling to the back of his head, now completely out cold. 'Pity,' the hooded man said coldly, 'it looks like you chose the difficult way. If you had only chosen to come quietly then I would have one less extra weight to carry.' Giving the fallen Death Eater one last kick, he bent down and swung the limp body over his shoulders and began heading back into the fir trees. 'Oh, and by the way,' he added, the sword slashed through the air with extraordinary speed so that the thick trunk of a nearby fir tree snapped in half, 'I know you're there.'

Two strangled yelps issued from behind the tree as two more hooded figures emerged, '_Oi! Watch where you're swinging your weapons! Are you trying to kill all your comrades too_?'

'_Have you disposed of the other Death Eater, Fox_?' the first cloaked figure said, as if he had not almost killed two of his teammates. The man known as Fox pouted.

'_Getting straight to the point, huh? I guess that's just like you_,' Fox said, sounding a little offended at his teammate's lack of concern for his well being, '_yeah, we burned him. So what took you so long? Slug, here was starting to get worried and insisted on following you._'

'_I-I did not_!' the last hooded figure said, sounding slightly flustered, '_I had complete faith in you, Raven._' Her voice was the highest so far, suggesting that she was female.

'_You thought I'd be killed by such a low ranking Death Eater? I'm offended,_' Raven droned blandly.

'_Of course not_,' Slug said, '_so where do we go now_?'

'_We're heading back to Grimmauld Place immediately to start with the interrogation._'

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Cleaning out Grimmauld Place was a difficult job even for Harry who was used to cleaning up after the Dursleys. Hermione took it rather well, although Fred, George, Ginny and Ron who were used to their mother doing most of the house cleaning eventually fell into grumpy, soggy moods. However, even on the worst days, they were still much better off than Sirius who spent most of his time in Buckbeak's room. Harry had never seen him more restless before. He had always seen his godfather as a good natured man on most occasions but that impression had quickly transformed into a fire breathing dragon, ready to snap and destroy everything in existence. The fact that the three ninjas continued to live under the same roof did not help matters either. Harry knew since the moment he'd stepped into Number 12 Grimmauld place that his godfather disliked- no, hated the ninjas probably almost as much as he hated Snape. Though the Weasleys, Tonks and Lupin hid it well, Harry could almost feel the temperature drop by twenty degrees whenever the ninjas entered the room and the tension increase by a scale of 100. Moody was particularly cautious, although this was hardly a new trait due to his almost paranoid personality, Harry could not help but feel there was a certain amount of fear that the wizards had for the ninjas.

Deciding to confirm his hypothesis, Harry decided to go to Hermione who was as good as a human library. He found her clearing out a closet of strange looking, possibly illegal objects contaminated with Dark Magic into a sack, aided by Ron who was clutching a swollen finger where the biting teapot had attacked him. 'Oh, Harry- you're finally here,' Hermione said, struggling with little success in opening a heavy golden locket, 'can you give me a hand with this?'

Harry took the locket from her and gripped both sides of it, heaving with all his might. He searched around it for some sort of switch but found none and instead tossed it into the fat sack of Dark objects, 'Hermione, why does everyone hate the ninjas so much?'

'Maybe because they're uptight, scary looking blokes,' Ron said, looking disgusted.

'No, that's not it, Ron,' Hermione said, attempting to stuff a pair of old glasses and a toga into the already full sack, 'haven't you heard about the crisis with the Hidden Continent?'

'Err-no,' Ron said cluelessly.

'About a hundred years ago,' Hermione said, abandoning her attempt to fill the sack and opened up a new one, 'the Hidden Continent was conjoined with Feudal Japan which is why they carry a lot of Japanese customs and even speak the same language. This made Japan have some of the best military strength in the entire world. Ninjas are Muggles, meaning they can't do any magic. Instead they use what they call chakra- a combination of spiritual and physical energy to comb-.'

'This isn't a history lesson, Hermione,' Ron said bluntly, 'I think I've heard enough from old Binns anyway.'

Hermione shot him a glare and Harry quickly said, 'Please continue.'

'Anyway, as I was saying- the ninjas used a different system- a system that every muggle and wizard carries, a chakra system. Although chakra is very different from magic because everyone has one to keep their bodies operating whereas only a few selected people are gifted with magic.'

'Then why are they so powerful when we have one extra system to rely on?' Ron said curiously, absent mindedly shoving an old, moldy tea towel into the sack. It gave a shriek of protest and leapt onto Ron's face. As Ron struggled with the tea towel, Hermione began to look a little uneasy.

'The chakra system is extremely difficult to manipulate- well so I've heard. To do so is going against nature itself. Not much is known about them, though- ever since the war, they've been keeping to themselves. Ninjas were trained ever since birth to carry out missions in return for money which they must carry out even to their deaths. They've been known to rob and even kill people in exchange for money- that's why it's a little intimidating to live around them…'

But Harry was not listening; a sick, uneasy feeling had started in the bottom of his stomach. In his mind, his face flashed from the overenthusiastic Turtle to the gentle Panda and finally stopping at Hawk. How could they act so happy and carefree, knowing that they could die at any moment, knowing that their hands were drenched in blood? It made him feel angry and sick that Dumbledore would hire murderous assassins to guard him. What had he been thinking?

'Harry?' Hermione said, looking a little worried at his blank, far-away expression.

'It's nothing,' he said and proceeded to clean out the closet. When the whole room had been cleaned of everything undesirable, five full sacks of objects lay at their feet, each bag standing up to Harry's waist. They collapsed, exhausted onto the dusty floor, their chests rising and falling rapidly.

'Potter-kun?' a voice said somewhere above Harry. His eyes flew open and found himself face to face with Turtle who had bent down over him. Harry shot up, almost banging faces with the ninja but due to his quick reflexes, they were fortunately able to avoid a painful head clash. Now that Harry was fully aware of the fact that he was only inches away from a murdering assassin, even if Turtle didn't exactly act like a bloodthirsty killer his reactions had become increasingly jumpy and paranoid.

'What do you want?' he said abruptly.

'My, my- what's with those un-youthful attitudes?' Turtle said brightly, observing the scowls of Harry and Ron's faces and Hermione's tentative expression.

'You didn't tell us that you killed people,' Ron said coldly.

Turtle's cheerful expression immediately melted into a dangerous frown and although they could not see it, the sun beams previously surrounding the ninja were immediately dulled by a dangerous looking storm cloud. 'Who told you that?'

Although they did not reply, Hermione stared at her toes, trying and failing to hide her guilty face. Their tense silence was as good an answer as a spoken one and Turtle immediately took it for his answer. 'You're a smart girl,' he started, indicating Hermione although his words were hardly praise, 'to know so much information. You're very fortunate that I do not consider you enemies or I would have to slit your throat right here and now. Your knowledge could prove quite a threat had you been a ninja.'

Harry never thought he would see the day where the enthusiastic Turtle would act like Hawk, who was his polar opposite. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end as they shook in their shoes, unable to move. Then the cloud suddenly moved away and the bright sun came into view.

'Oops! Sorry, I got a bit carried away there- ha-ha,' Turtle laughed sheepishly, which only made them feel even more uneasy. The three were stunned into silence, not really listening as Turtle mumbled apologies about his "un-youthful" attitude. Harry recovered first.

'You still haven't answered my question,' he said.

'Which one?' Turtle replied.

'What do you want?' Harry repeated.

'Oh… we just recently got a report from our client, Dumbledore-sama,' Turtle said, 'apparently, we will be giving Harry special self defence lessons on behalf of his own protection.'

'Special self defence lessons?' Harry said, raising an eyebrow, 'why would Dumbledore want me to learn self defence? ' He had always carried his wand around with him most of the time and Hermione had even complimented him at being the best in their grade at DADA so he could safely say that he was quite good at using it too.

'Potter-kun, say what would you do if you lost your wand in a bat- I mean- duel?' Turtle asked.

'I've never let go of my wand before,' Harry said stubbornly, though he couldn't help but think back to the Disarming Charm which had always been a useful spell he often used on his opponents, even saving him from Voldemort's Killing Curse last June. However, had the spell had been used on him; Harry did not find the outcome all that inviting.

'You never know, Potter-kun,' Turtle shrugged, 'besides, instructions from the client must always be obeyed so we have to teach you regardless of whether you agree to it or not.'

Harry considered for a moment. He did the find the prospect of being in the mercy of a bunch of deadly assassins all that attractive, he admitted that self defence lessons wouldn't hurt and could even prove useful. 'Fine,' he said reluctantly.

'Um- if you don't mind,' Hermione said nervously, 'is it alright is we can take these lessons alongside Harry?' Harry could not help but feel grateful by her words. At least he wouldn't be along in the presence of the guards.

'I don't see the harm in it,' Turtle said.

'Also-err-who will be teaching us?' Hermione said tentatively; the three of them mentally crossing their fingers that it wasn't Hawk.

'Panda and I,' Turtle said, smiling a little, as if guessing what they were thinking. Harry, Ron and Hermione suppressed sighs of relief.

'When will we start the lessons?' Hermione continued a little more confidently.

'Well, straight away, of course.'

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After the whole incident with the smashed wall, Mrs. Weasley refused to let them do any "violent acts" whilst inside the house so they were forced to use the backyard which she magically expanded for their self defence training area. The garden was full overgrown weeds, the grass wild and unruly and reaching roughly past Harry's kneecaps, making it difficult to walk. What was possibly a vegetable patch twenty years ago was now a spot of muddy dirt covered with weeds. Every now and then a lucky potato or carrot had managed to survive and poked through the small forest of foxglove and rabbit grass. They had all changed into old, Muggle shorts and t-shirts as Turtle had instructed.

Harry would never openly admit it but he was curious of what the ninjas had planned to teach him. 'This grass would prove difficult to move in but it doesn't matter since in real life you sometimes have to fight in rough conditions,' Turtle said, he, himself was having little trouble wading through the lawn. 'But for the purpose of today's lesson, it would be hard for you to see what I'm teaching you.' He unsheathed his sword and cut off the nearest patch of grass down to his ankles for a five metre radius, 'this should do it. Come on, step closer.'

There was silence- the calm before the storm before Turtle cried, 'Alright everyone! Get down onto your crouching position! I want you all to give me a thirty!'

'What?' Ron said, looking confused.

'Thirty push-ups!' said Turtle, dropping down before any of them could protest and began doing push-ups at an impossibly fast speed. They couldn't even see his arms move because they were blurred. Their jaws hit the floor and by the time they had come to their senses, Turtle had already finished.

'What are you waiting for?' he said and the three hesitantly dropped into a crouch.

'I can't even do _one _push up…,' Ron groaned.

Harry barely managed to do one push up and was already exhausted but refused to give in and persevered on determinedly. Hermione and Ron were exhausted too, the former collapsed after her eleventh push up and the latter on his eighteenth. Harry managed to do all the way up to twenty one before accepting the fact that he was so tired that his arms wouldn't even move anymore.

'So un-youthfully out of shape,' Turtle sighed, the ninja had completed a total of 106 push-ups while the three had been moping on the ground and not even one drop of sweat fell from his tanned body. Harry, Ron and Hermione were red-faced and panting, rivers of sweat falling from their faces. 'Now I want twenty laps around the garden.'

'Are you freaking mental!' Ron huffed, gazing at the large outstretch of lawn. Harry could hardly understand how excessively working out had anything to do with self defence and decided to voice his thoughts on the matter.

'Exercise makes you fit and youthful and you last longer in battle,' Turtle replied, 'now, twenty laps, please!' Harry, Ron and Hermione began to jog after Turtle who was zooming around the garden as fast as he completed the push-ups.

'Where does he get so much bloody energy?' Ron said, ogling at the ninja who zoomed past them on his tenth lap before they had even completed one. They managed to successfully run one lap but by the beginning of the third lap, Harry was breathing heavily once more and clutched at a stitch in his side.

After completing all twenty laps, Harry felt as if he would not be able to move his legs ever again and would spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair. However the torture did not finish there. Turtle made them do fifty squat jumps, thirty sit ups, fifty skip jumps with a rope and finishing up on twenty chin ups on the branch of a nearby tree.

'Well, that's enough for today,' Turtle said cheerfully as Harry, Ron and Hermione dropped to the ground, breathing heavily. 'I went easy on you today because it was your first lesson. Next week we will be even more youthful, in fact we'll be _doubling _the amount of each exercise.'

Their red, sweaty faces immediately drained of all colour, replaced with an unhealthy shade of white.

'You have got to be kidding me,' Ron panted heavily as they watched Turtle walk away easily, showing no sign of struggle or exhaustion.

The next morning, the after affects of the work out began to kick in. Harry groaned, grabbing onto the bedpost for support. Every muscle in his body was on fire- it even hurt to breathe because it jolted slightly on his wounded stomach muscles.

'I don't want to move…' Ron groaned from the bed. After the horrible experience of shooting straight out of bed, jolting every one of his sore muscles in the process.

'I'm getting up,' Harry said, his grip tightening on the bedpost and he managed to haul himself into a sitting position with some difficulty.

'How many lessons is he giving us every week?' Ron mumbled.

There was a crash as the door slammed open with such force that it was ripped right off its hinges. 'Good morning my youthful wizards! Get up, it's time for your training!' Turtle shouted, 'we'll be starting today with forty laps around the house, come on! We don't have all day!'

Harry stared at the scene in front of him with wide eyes. 'Oh, shit-,' Ron muttered.

Harry slumped back into his stiff pillow and tried his best to make his snores genuine.

**So I recently made a new poll regarding which crossover I wrote that you prefer. Of course I am more content with this story and I will continue with it regardless of the result. However I am curious so please check it out on my profile page and vote! Also if you can be bothered, you can PM me or review as to tell me why.**


	4. The Discovery

**Sorry for the long wait yet again. My constant apologies before each chapter has become quite a fashion trend I've noticed. I hope I will have more time to write for the rest of this year for next year I will have practically none.**

English

_Japanese/Foreign Language/Written Text_

'Speech' **(I realised that some of you were a bit turned off by my choice of quotation signs and I apologise but I will not be changing it. I have always typed stories with these quotation signs and changing it now would rather drag down my typing speed.)**

The Discovery

_-Hawk_

_We have dealt with the targets. We have eliminated three of them and have one restrained and captured ready to be put through Code 17. Swan will be arriving around the same time as us. The client has given us permission to reveal the coordinates of HQ. I am sure her has already informed the others of this. Our arrival should be guaranteed at seven days, if not earlier._

_Regards_

_~RFS_

_PS: Burn immediately after reading. _

Hawk rolled the scroll up tightly and clenched his fist, chakra was forced into his finger tips, heating the white fabric until it burst into flames. He clutched the burning ball of blue fire in his hand painlessly and watched as the flames gradually ate its way across the entire message. When the scroll had been reduced to nothing but blackened ash, he opened his fingers and let the tiny grey particles cascade to the already dirty surface of the antique table.

Judging by the distance of the location of Squad 7 and the speed of the messenger bird, the scroll had been sent six days ago, leaving today to be the last day.

He doubted the wizards would take it so kindly that Dumbledore had given them permission to bring an enemy into the headquarters however there was no other available housing resource. Hogwarts would've probably been a better choice but the client had been particularly final with his decision of keeping his enemies out of the school's walls.

Dusting off his hands, Hawk gave a great sigh, digging in his kunai holster for the chakra suppressants- they were supposed to be taking them daily to conceal their chakra from any enemy ninja that may have crossed the borderline. The pills greatly decreased their fighting strength and lowered their stamina considerably but it held enough to let them fight to fifty percent of their regular ability. Hawk twisted open the lid and upturned the tiny white bottle completely. A single, small white pill tumbled into his gloved palm. It was the last one. Fortunately Slug and her team had promised to arrive today- he would have to get her to produce some more.

He winced as the tiny lump provided some discomfort as it slid down his throat without the assistance of water. It took a total of twenty seconds to reach his stomach and the effect was instantaneous. It felt as if the very acid in his stomach had turned against its container and his insides burned with renewed ferocity. Hawk began to make his way to the kitchen, trying his best not to lose his composure completely and do something embarrassing- like stumble over the floor. He was glad to find the kitchen empty and quickly flipped open the tap, filling up a large glass of water before shutting it at the half-way point, his flaming insides allowed him little patience to wait until it was completely full and drank the entire cup in one go.

The pain gradually died down and Hawk's gulping of water began to slow. He wiped his wet lips on his gloved wrist, reaching to place the glass in the sink when he heard the clumping, loud footsteps of one of the clumsy wizards.

Hawk whirled around just as the red haired boy, Ron who was one of the two people particularly close to the subject walked into the room- probably looking for a snack. For some reason he was always hungry, then again he would be too if he grew at the same rate as that clambering, tall teenager. At the sight of him, Ron blinked a few times, his mouth falling open. Hawk realised a long time ago that his presence may have been pretty intimidating however he had thought that the wizards had already adapted to their sight enough to accept their strange appearance. Perhaps he had misjudged them. Hawk continued to glare back at the stunned, red haired teenager who was currently not showing any signs of life.

'What?' Hawk muttered grumpily.

'Y-Your face-!'

'What about my fa-?' Hawk began before noticing the blue and white bird mask which he had discarded on the kitchen bench in his haste. '_Shit_,' he swore in Japanese.

Hawk snatched the mask off the table, quickly fixing the straps around the back of his head and attached chakra strings onto them for extra security. The pill gave him a little trouble moulding and controlling the chakra but he managed it all quickly enough to have the mask back on his face in ten seconds.

It had all happened so quickly that Ron did not manage to see the ninja's face for than approximately four seconds but the short period of time he had glimpsed it, burned the image into his very retina's and he was sure that the guard's appearance would be remembered for the rest of his life even if he never saw it again.

'You,' the ninja's words burned with so much intensity that Ron shrank back into the doorway, 'don't ever tell anyone of this meeting for I will know if you do.'

Although Ron had experienced Hawk's battle aura before, it had never been so intense so far, although Hawk always kept up a calm and cool composure, deep down he was currently suppressing very concentrated frustration. Due to his carelessness, he had accidently revealed his face to a loud mouthed, bratty wizard who had little experience in keeping his mouth shut and his thoughts to himself. He doubted very much that the boy would keep the information of his appearance from his best friends Harry and Hermione. He was particularly worried about Hermione who proved to be thoroughly more intelligent than her male friends and if Ron had not been a student from Hogwarts with special rights inflicted on him from the Headmaster, Hawk would've happily seeked approval from their Captain to have the piece of information extracted from his head by Swan or any other ninja who dealt with mental structure.

Ron felt his face burn with embarrassment and his insides freeze to icicles in fear as Hawk brushed past him, the tip of his sword colliding hard against his shoulder, probably leaving a large, painful bruise.

The ninja's young face still pitched in Ron's head as he walked back towards the bedroom that he shared with Harry. His best friend had been practically hyperventilating the whole morning because his trial was being held the next day and after ten minutes of attempting to convince him of the success of his hearing to no avail, he gave up and decided that it was kinder to leave him alone for the time being. Instead he decided to talk to Hermione who was in a fairly good state in her mental health and instead made the opposite turn on the landing

Hermione, to no one's surprise was studying in her bedroom even when they had not received any homework over the holidays. With the constant cleaning of the house in the past few weeks, (which had gratefully reduced since the majority of the dust in the house had been cleared) and Turtle and Panda's training lessons, (which had been reduced to once a fortnight once Panda found out that Turtle was trying to get them to train every day from dawn to dusk), Hermione had little time to study her class notes which she probably already memorised a million times over.

'Hey 'Mione,' Ron said, his voice sounded strangely mechanical after the shocking encounter of coming face to face with the short ninja guard for the first time.

'Oh, hello, Ron. May I help you with something?' Hermione replied, not looking up from her work.

Ron hesitated slightly, thinking back to the ninja's reaction when he had seen their face. Hawk seemed to have become very frustrated as he tried to keep up his self composure. Ron didn't see what was such a big deal with seeing someone's face unless they had an ugly deformation but Hawk was far from it. What struck him the most was not his attractiveness though, but his actual youth. Ron had always imagined the ninjas to be as old as some of the more experienced Aurors- in their late thirties or forties. Hawk could not have been much older than themselves, if not around the same age.

'Hermione, when you were talking about ninjas before, you mentioned that they started training from a young age,' Ron began slowly, every word brought the image of Hawk's threat clearer in his mind. However, he wasn't telling Hermione anything about seeing his face- after all there was nothing suspicious about asking a few questions right? 'how young would that be?'

Hermione frowned, 'You didn't seem to be quite interested last time. What makes you so intrigued?'

'I'm just curious,' Ron said a little too quickly. Hermione continued to frown suspiciously but opened her mouth to answer anyway.

'Well, the sources I read off weren't a hundred percent reliable and ninjas have always been secretive so little information is known about them and we can hardly confirm these facts to be correct because ninjas have almost always never been on good terms with us and usually any wizard that wonders over to the Hidden Continent never returns. However, I know that they begin their basic training as young as four years old- that is for sure. I've also heard that they put ninjas in exams to increase their ranks, placing two contestants in an arena at a time to battle against each other to the death. Apparently they let any age compete, so it's horrible to think that some of them even start killing at our age.'

'I couldn't help but eavesdrop on your conversation,' a voice interrupted them. Ron and Hermione almost jumped out of their skin. Whirling around they came face to mask with Turtle who was leaning nonchalantly against the bedpost.

'Will you ever stop doing that!' Ron said indignantly.

'Our shoes have rubber soles and are designed for stealth so that civilians and low ranked ninjas have difficulty detecting us. Even without them on, my old habits kick in, we're kind of used to walking on tip-toe you know,' Turtle replied, shrugging slightly.

'You should just wear clunky platform boots with metal heels instead,' Ron suggested.

'That would be incredibly inconvenient for missions.'

'Just forget it,' Ron sighed, 'why were you eavesdropping on us? Don't you have anything better to do like protect Harry or do stuff for the Order?'

'Panda is currently with Harry and the Order seems to be operating youthfully without our assistance,' Turtle replied, 'however, I couldn't help but notice how much you seem to know about us. I had no idea that wizards knew this much about our culture. May I ask where you learnt of this, Granger-chan?'

Hermione looked surprised, 'I have this book I borrowed from the Hogwarts library last year- _The Hidden Continent of Japan_, the author is anonymous but-.'

Turtle drowned out the rest of her words as he sunk deep in thought, the author of the book was most likely another ninja who had crossed over into the magical world. After all, no wizard had travelled across the barrier for centuries and the few foolish, arrogant ones that did were tortured for information before eliminated. To have so much knowledge of them lying in the magical world would prove to be quite a threat to their community, it needed to be dealt with immediately.

'Granger-chan,' Turtle interrupted her through her explanation, 'may I please see this book?'

'Sure,' Hermione said, hastily opening her bulging school bag and pulled out a single, tiny book that looked very cramped among the much larger Ancient Runes translation guides and three-inch-thick Transfiguration spell books. Turtle snatched up the book quickly and turned it over, turning it to the back and opening the front page. It was like Hermione had said- there was no recorded author. He skimmed through the book, scanning over the contents a few times before coming to his final decision. The book was definitely a threat.

Turtle snapped it shut, 'Is there any more books like this in Hogwarts library?' Turtle asked.

'You mean books about ninjas? Well, there isn't a lot- probably another two or three more,' Hermione replied.

'Hmm... and where does Hogwarts library get their books from?'

'Mostly from Flourish and Blotts, you know- that book store in Diagon Alley.'

'Is there any other store that they get their books from? Or perhaps another source?'

Hermione pursed her lips, looking thoughtful, 'Hand written manuscripts are rare, even in our library and I'm pretty sure that most of the books are from Flourish and Blotts. There may be other book stores but I'm not sure of their names.'

Turtle nodded, 'Thank you, Granger-chan. Your information was quite useful,' he replied, lifting the book above him at arm's length and dipped it over the candle that provided the source of light for Hermione's studies.

The book burst into flame.

Hermione shrieked and even Ron was a little shocked. Turtle dropped the burning book into the tin garbage bin beside the desk

'W-What are you d-doing?' Hermione yelled, leaping to her feet, 'that book was borrowed on my card! Madam Pince is going to _kill_ me!'

'I will get Captain Stag to explain it to her,' Turtle said, dismissively waving his hand, 'he can be quite persuasive when he wants to be.'

'B-But still, t-that's beside t-the point!' Hermione exclaimed, 'why did you do that?'

'It was a necessary precaution. We cannot afford for any more people to find out about us. All the ninja books in the library will be burned as well, alongside with all the copies we can find in book stores,' he said as the tiny red book gradually turned black as the greedy flame swallowed the defenceless object whole.

Turtle left the room before the entire book had turned into dust, Hermione still in a state of shock and Ron swearing under his breath as he watched the book burn.

'I swear, they're bloody uptight. Even Moody wasn't this paranoid,' he muttered, 'I don't care what this Captain Stag says... there's no argument out there that will convince that old bat that burning books is a good thing. She'll definitely skin him alive- even if he is a ninja.'

line-line-line-line-line-line-line-line-line-line-line-line-line-line-line-line-line-line-line-line- line-line-line-line-line-line-line-line-

'_Kaimaru!_'

Turtle burst into the room that he shared with Hawk. Said ninja was surprisingly missing, Turtle had seen him go up into their bedroom after the last meeting but he was nowhere to be seen. There was a small shift in Turtle's bedcovers and he ran over, grabbing two corners of the blanket and lifting it up.

There was a cry of protest from what appeared to be a bright turquoise rock at first glance. A long, thin neck appeared out from under the shell, revealing the face of an obviously vexed tortoise. '_Can't you respect someone's sleep?_' the tortoise cried indignantly.

'_Sorry, Kai-chan_,' Turtle apologised quickly, '_I have a little job for you to do. I want you to send a message to Captain Stag please._'

'_Geez, you're always overworking me so much_,' the tortoise complained, but sighed anyway, climbing slowly and reluctantly out of the warm bed, '_you know I'm not used to the cold weather in England_.'

'_Hogwarts is a lot warmer than this house_,' Turtle added, '_besides, once you go there, you can stay if you like and Stag will get you a hot water bottle and some of your favourite hot cocoa that the British seem to have a youthful amount of._'

'_Fine_,' Kaimaru grumbled, '_what's the message?_'

'_Tell him that the wizarding world seems to be more well informed about our customs than we realised. This can prove to be a real threat- even the book stores are selling books about our continent. I want him to send out orders to destroy all the books about our existence, starting from Flourish and Blotts in Diagon Alley._'

'_Yeah, yeah- whatever,' _Kaimaru said, attempting to stand upright on the soft, bumpy bed sheets, cursing slightly when he fell back onto his shell. Turtle snorted and grabbed the tortoise with two hands, placing him vertically on his two, long flippers. '_Well, see you in a few, I think._'

Kaimaru gave a half-hearted salute as he disappeared in a cloud of greenish smoke that Turtle enthusiastically returned. He knew, he wouldn't be seeing the tortoise until he arrived back at Hogwarts.

There was a knock on the door, 'Who is it?' Turtle called out.

'_It's me_,' a female voice replied in Japanese and Turtle sighed with relief as he threw open the door.

'_It's just you, Panda_,' he said, '_what is it? I thought you were with Potter-kun?_'

'_Squad 7 has returned,_' Panda said, '_one of them is guarding him right now_.'

'_So their mission was successful_,' Turtle said, grinning, '_well, I can't say that I'm too surprised._'

To say Harry was unhappy was the biggest understatement of the year. As if he didn't already have enough troubles, more just had to come in through the front door.

More _ninjas_.

Harry gritted his teeth as he watched the three new ninjas slide in through the doorway, as gracefully as water running over rocks in a brook, appearing nonchalant though even from a distance, Harry noticed that every movement they made was un-wasted as if they had thoroughly planned it in their brain beforehand. Mrs. Weasley was doing a very poor job of concealing her displeasure and the mechanical smile on her face hardly seemed to fool the new group of ninjas.

'We never expected you to return so early,' Mrs. Weasley said, her movements quickened in her nervousness and she practically tripped herself, trying to shut the door behind them.

'I'm sure you're all very disappointed,' the tallest one with the most intimidating mask Harry had seen so far spoke sarcastically. It was similar to Hawk's but the beak was not as curved and instead of turquoise painted designs, the mask was decorated harsh, black and white strokes, though the basis colour of it seemed to be the former.

'We are actually a very late according to our original plan,' the female of the group spoke. Her bubblegum pink hair was somewhat similar to that of Tonks' metamorphosis and contrasted so much against the deep black cloaks and glinting bone armour, 'our original plan was three days- in time to witness Potter-san's arrival. The elimination of the Death Eaters would not have dragged out for four weeks if you had informed us about wizard abilities. It took us a little more time to figure out how to prevent from doing that annoying apparating trick every time we showed up. Our Captain is going to have a very long chat with the client about letting us know all the facts before a mission.'

'Besides that, it was a very boring mission,' the last one in the group was a very short male who was barely taller than the pink haired female. He had obnoxiously bright blonde hair that shone the same shade as the Sun commanded almost as much attention as the woman's pink locks and his mask was that of some kind of canine, painted on with fierce strokes of bright orange, 'it wasn't very challenging at all. I actually preferred the less information. At least it provided some excitement.'

Mrs. Weasley appeared to be at a total loss of words and instead wiped her brow in an attempt to calm herself, 'I'm sure you have a lot to discuss with us about the mission but let's go to the meeting room. The others are waiting for you there...'

'She's right, Fox. I'm sure you've already noticed it, but the _mice _here seem to be quite interested in the local gossip,' the one with the bird mask lowered his voice menacingly. Harry shivered as the bird mask slowly inched a little to the place where he remained hidden behind the landing. Fox exchanged knowing looks with the pink haired woman while Mrs. Weasley blinked in confusion.

'Well, follow me please, gentlemen,' Mrs. Weasley said, trying to break the awkward silence where Harry felt the ninjas' gaze burning up his body. He held his breath as the pink haired female spoke.

'And lady,' she added, with that she tore her eyes away from the landing, turning to walk after Mrs. Weasley. The two male ninjas made to follow her, the tallest one with the bird mask was the last to look away.

'Come on, don't slow us down, Raven,' Fox called.

'I'm coming,_ dobe_,' the ninja, Raven replied, hesitantly averting his pupils towards the door of the dining room and swiftly caught up with his comrades.

Harry slowly let out the breath he was holding, wiping the cold sweat that had started to form on his brow. This was just what he needed. More ninjas, this time even more frightening than the ones already at Grimmauld Place. He was actually very glad that they had returned late- had people like Fox or Raven shown up to transfer him from Privet Drive, Harry may not have accompanied them. Especially Raven, there was something about his aura that unsettled him in a way that Hawk sometimes did but with this ninja it was even stronger and instead of happening at certain situations, his seemed to sap from his skin constantly.

Harry would have gladly followed after them and tried to eavesdrop on their conversation for the contents would be even juicier with the three new arrivals participating. However he knew that doing so would be a complete waste of time for Mrs. Weasley would probably block up the door again and even if she hadn't, he did not dare to approach the meeting room after the less than pleasant encounter with the ninjas.

What also unsettled him was the confidence the ninjas seemed to carry. How they believed they could track and eliminate an obviously skilled group of Death Eaters in three days. Though that had not been accomplished, Harry believed they could have done it if they really had enough information. In fact, four weeks was very impressive especially for their lack of knowledge of the wizarding world. Thinking back to it, Harry was beginning to appreciate Hawk, Panda and Turtle a lot more, compared to the new arrivals, they were definitely more approachable.

As the door slammed shut, encasing the room once more in silence, Harry collapsed against the wall, all tension released in one shot, leaving him in relief.

**Please read the AU. I know a lot of people don't- I have a theory that has bothered me for a while that I just wanted to share with everyone.**

**The reason I had held back a bit with Tenten is that she's going to play a very big part in Harry's trial- next chapter.**

**Also there has been something that has bothered me since I read HP/Naruto crossovers. In some stories, (not all), I find that many people are using the Harry Potter fan-base as a scapegoat to overpower the Naruto fan-base. I know I may have overpowered the characters in my previous crossover but I did not intentionally mean to use HP as an object used to be put down and to make the Naruto characters look more superior. I have also noticed that many people find pleasure when HP characters are put down in the superior light of the Naruto characters and I am not accusing any individual person but rather- a large majority of this crossover group. **

**I am not forcing anyone to stop writing these stories because each of you are entitled to reading and writing whatever you please, I am just pointing out a fact that has bothered me for over a year now- one that I have been wanting to share with my readers for a long time. I am not blaming anyone for it and I will not mention any individual names for I know that a lot of them were in the same boat as I was and did not intend for it to mean anything but I find it kind of vexing.**

**So what are your opinions of this issue? I would be very interested in hearing them.**


	5. Shikamaru's Plan

**Oh ****my ****gosh, ****I ****wrote ****two ****chapters ****in ****one ****go!****I ****have ****totally ****no ****life ****at ****all. ****Paper ****Dolls ****is ****so ****much ****easier ****to ****write ****than ****Replacement ****Teachers. ****However ****I ****have ****more ****fun ****in ****writing ****the ****latter. ****For ****those ****of ****you ****who ****are ****looking ****forward ****to ****another ****chapter ****of ****Replacement****Teachers, ****you ****may ****have ****to ****endure ****a ****little ****longer ****while ****I ****focus ****on ****this ****story. ****It ****is ****a ****lot ****harder ****to ****write ****but ****I ****hope ****you ****like ****Paper ****Dolls****j ust ****as ****much.**

AN: I'm so sorry about my most recent chapter! stuffed up the spacing on my bold and italics for some reason.

The Plan

The door of the dining room swung shut with an eerie sense of doom as a blanket of suspense dropped over the tense members of the Order. The ninjas seated themselves on the left side of the table in a straight line while the right side was similarly occupied by wizards, many of which were fidgeting uncomfortably or staring intently at a certain spot on the table, as if mesmerised by the tiny bumps and lines in the wood.

Moody decided the break the silence first, 'Have you set up barriers on the doors, Molly?' he growled.

'I have,' Mrs. Weasley replied.

'Very well, let's start then,' his single beady, black eye fixed onto Raven who happened to be sitting opposite him, much to the ninja's chagrin. He disliked the way the Auror's electric blue eye looked at him and the chakra emitting from it seemed almost...transparent. Said eye was swivelling around in its owner's socket in a way that Raven found disgusting, 'Dumbledore informed that you were going to bring a Death Eater,' he growled menacingly, 'I disapproved of it, of course. However he insisted on it and sent me here as an extra security barrier... so where is he? He does not appear to be anywhere in this room.'

'We will get to that later, Moody-san,' Hawk said, clearing his throat and continuing in a lower, more serious tone, 'before we begin, I have received complaint from my subordinates here,' Raven shot him a cold glare at being referred to as his minor but Hawk ignored it, 'the mission was terribly delayed because you failed to provide them with necessary information of your transportation abilities.' An awkward silence followed where much shuffling occurred and many poisonous glares were exchanged. 'Although Captain Stag has already had a word of it with Dumbledore-sama, I still feel that there is great relevance in getting this matter straight with all of you directly. Because of this delay, our plans can no longer be followed so new ones would have to be made. Voldemort,' Hawk growled, ignoring the few winces that followed, '-and more importantly Akatsuki will have more time to carry out their own plans without anyone to fight back in return. Do you all understand the severity of your mistake?'

His words were harsh and sharp, cracking through the air like a whip. The air was icy with tension and barely suppressed rage in some cases. Sirius cut the taut rope first.

'We did not think that the information would have greatly affected the success of your mission at all,' Sirius said coldly, 'after all, you are _ninjas_aren't you. Are you telling me that you were all talk after all?'

'Black-san,' Slug said, cutting across Hawk before he could reply, 'this is a very serious matter. Your sarcasm his hardly appreciated in this discussion.'

Sirius' eyes widened for a second with anger but he grudgingly chained his rage and replied in a calmer tone, 'Well, if you want the facts-here they are. The lot of you can hardly lecture us of secrecy when you haven't shared a piece of your information with us since the beginning. You won't tell us your names or your abilities either- you even hide your faces. How can you expect us to trust you with details of our magic when you do not trust us enough to reveal the extent of your fighting prowess?'

'You are quite right, Black-san,' Hawk said with the tone of a father trying to explain to his three year old toddler why one plus one equalled two, 'however, I do not see how being informed of our personal lives have any effect on the success of the mission. This was different, we have always revealed information to you when we feel it is important for you to know... hiding these facts provided a great impacting drag on our time management and for a time period we no longer had the man power to continue the spying missions in London because of a single squad's absence. This also decreased the number of ninjas at headquarters to protect Potter-san-.'

'You don't care about Harry,' Sirius huffed, 'you wouldn't care to protect him if it wasn't for this stupid mission.'

'Whether we care for Potter or not is not part of this discussion,' Raven interrupted, 'we are simply informing you of a wrong committed by the wizard party so that this will not happen in the future.'

Lupin shot Sirius a calm-down-you-fool look before turning to face Hawk with a serious expression, 'We are sorry,' he said quickly before anyone could object, 'this was a great mistake on our part and we swear it will not happen again.'

Hawk nodded, 'You are a wise man, Lupin-san,' he turned to Raven with a nod. Raven stood up, pushing the wooden chair back a few centimetres with a harsh scraping sound, 'before we bring out the prisoner, we would like you to first have a brief warning of his condition. He is badly injured and we have sealed him with special jutsus so that he has a zero percent chance of escaping.'

'I have a question before we proceed, Hawk,' Tonks said, 'I asked this to Dumbledore when he informed us that you were planning on bringing a Death Eater into headquarters however he said to leave it up to you. What will we do with him once we have extracted all the information we want from him? Will we keep him locked up until we can find a way to bring an end to Voldemort?'

Hawk shot her a grim smile which went unnoticed, 'I thought the answer was obvious, Tonks-san,' he said in a menacing voice, an icy breeze brushed uncomfortably on their backs. Even Fox shivered a little but it was probably from the low temperature since he was the only ninja in the room not wearing a cloak.

'I'm afraid I don't quite understand what you mean,' Mr. Weasley said nervously, 'Y-You aren't planning on killing him are you?'

'What other solution is there?' Hawk muttered as Raven reached to his waist belt where several scrolls were strapped to a belt. He grabbed the last one, closest to his back and pulled it out slowly, unrolling it until it lay vertically across the table. A single Japanese character was written in the centre, covering the majority of the page and it was surrounded by dozens of little black swirls that slithered over each other like vines, growing steadily more complex and concentrated towards the centre.

The wizards tensed, their hands reaching for their wands as Raven pulled out a kunai from his weapons holster and slashed the top of his exposed thumb. Dark red blood spurted from the wound as several people cried in shock.

'What are you doing?' Mrs. Weasley exclaimed. Raven ignored her, tiny rivers of blood running down his thumb, dripping nonchalantly from his hand. He wiped the wound on the kanji symbol, creating a single scarlet stain on the white fabric. Raven dropped the kunai which clattered noisily on the table as he brought his right hand into a ram symbol, his fore and middle finger touching his lips as he uttered a single word, '_Kai!__'_

There was a bang and an explosion of smoke that engulfed the entire table, the ninjas who had already had some experience with sealing jutsus before had already dived to safety but many wizards had little time to escape the tirade of exhausted chakra and instead spent the next few seconds coughing heavily to clear their lungs.

When the smoke finally cleared, it took several more seconds for a few of them to get back to their senses. When finally their instincts kicked in once more, the unpleasant sight that greeted them almost sent them into another coughing fit.

Tonks gasped, Lupin flinched, Mrs. Weasley gave a small cry and Sirius' eyes hardened. A man, possibly in his late twenties or early thirties lay, outstretched on the scroll. His tattered black cloak was streaked with mud and blood as well as several bandaged wounds. A pitiful stump was all that remained of his right hand though the injury seemed to have grown a layer of calloused skin over it from the help of Slug's healing abilities. His cheeks were slightly hollowed from eating less-than-square meals for several weeks and his large, hooded eyelids were blackish-purple from wither fatigue or injury, they could not be sure. His brown hair was ruffled and slightly damp and his swollen lips opened and closed as he mumbled in his coma, his face twisted in pain as if he was having a nightmare.

'How could you?' Mrs. Weasley mouthed while Raven gestured for Slug to continue. The kunoichi stood stiffly and lifted her right hand which immediately began glowing en eerie green. She reached for the man's forehead and held it there for a few seconds and he slowly began to stir. Finally after a minute his eyelids lifted and his eyes flew open, the eyeballs wide and almost popping from its sockets. Immediately all wands fell on him but Hawk stopped them. He held a finger to his lips in a silencing gesture and wrapped a strip of black cloth around the Death Eater's face, obscuring their eyes.

'W-Where am I?' he mumbled frantically, 'where d-did you t-take me?'

Hawk shot a look at Raven, signalling him to continue. Besides Swan, Raven was the most proficient at interrogation, 'There is no need for you to know for either way you will not live to leave,' he said so coldly that the man recoiled slightly in fear.

'Y-You!' he mouthed, 'w-what do y-you want from m-me? I already told y-you, I d-don't know anything.'

'The Veritaserum please, Slug,' Raven said, waving his hand expectantly in front of the medic who placed a small bottle of clear liquid in the palm of his gloved hand.

'Stop this, right there,' Tonks suddenly cried out, 'we shouldn't do this unless it's absolutely certain that he is a Death Eater! He could just be an innocent under the Imperious Curse!'

Raven opened his mouth but Lupin spoke first, 'I don't like this either,' he said grimly, 'but what else can we do in a situation like this?' When no remark greeted his rhetorical question, he turned back to Raven, signalling him to continue.

Raven obliged and ordered the Death Eater to open his mouth but he frantically shook his head. The ninja growled, disliking having his orders disobeyed and pinched the man's nose tightly with two fingers but even after two minutes he refused to open his mouth for air and his face had started to turn blue. 'Fox, force open his jaw,' he said finally.

The Death Eater struggled frantically to roll out of Fox's reach and threatened to topple of the table. Tonks, Lupin and Mr. Weasley leapt out of the way when he got to close, avoiding him like he was a rabid wild animal. Eventually Slug placed a firm hand on his chest and legs, keeping him pinned in place with her superhuman strength.

Fox grabbed the man's lower and upper jaw and gradually forced it open enough for Raven to push the bottle between his lips. After it was completely empty, he pulled it out again and the man choked as the liquid was forced down his throat. Tears trickled down from his hidden eyes as they worked.

'Let's get straight to the point,' Raven began, 'where is Voldemort's hideout?'

The Death Eater opened his mouth but instead of a reply, foam began forming at the corners of his mouth and a gurgled choke came from the bottom of his throat. Raven leaned in to observe his mouth closely, 'There's a seal on his tongue,' he said before addressing the wizards, 'I am fully aware that ninjas can perform sealing techniques. Is it possible that wizards can do the same thing?'

'We do have some sealing spells,' Moody growled slowly, 'but I have never seen any spell that looks like that,' he said with a disgusted look at the ugly black mark on the man's tongue. Raven nodded before prodding the man's neck sharply. His head collapsed on one side, obviously unconscious.

'This confirms it, Voldemort is definitely working with ninjas,' Raven said, voicing everyone's thoughts, 'this particular sealing technique is extremely difficult to perform even by our standards. Unless Voldemort has found a way of performing it himself although I really doubt it. Now all we have to do is confirm that it is Akatsuki they are working with.'

'But we can't do anything until Swan arrives,' Slug said irritably, '_Damn, __where __is __that __pig?_'

'Her team is finishing up on some Death Eaters in Winchester,' Hawk said, '_she __sent __me __an __emergency __message __a __few __minutes __ago. __She __will __probably __arrive __a __day __or __so __late. __Fox, __Raven-__take __the __prisoner __to __a __high __security __locked __room __where __the __brats __cannot __pry. __Give __him __food __and __water, __he __needs __to __be __in __good __condition __for __Swan__'__s __interrogation __and __keep __him __tied __up. __After __that __I __want __one __of __you __to __watch __over __him __to __make __sure __he __doesn__'__t __bite __his __tongue.__Slug-__you__'__ll __be __sharing __a __room __with __Panda, __I __want __you __to __go __upstairs __and __make __at __least __30 __more __bottles __of __chakra __suppressants. __All __the __ingredients __are __on __the __table __but __if __you __need __anything, __don__'__t __hesitate __to __ask._You are all dismissed.'

Fox leaned down, slinging the limp Death Eater over his shoulder where he hung like a rag doll. Without a sound, he disappeared into thin air, leaving some of the wizards trying and failing to suppress their shocked expressions. Raven and Slug stood up to follow and in seconds, they too had vanished.

'This meeting is over,' Hawk said, staring around at the stunned wizards. Some of them were pale as sheets though a few like Sirius, Mad-Eye and Lupin came to their senses and stood up to leave with grim expressions on their face. Hawk addressed the remainder dumbfounded group, 'you may leave whenever you wish.'

When he too had left, Tonks finally budged. 'That was...,' she looked sick, 'their methods are-.' She struggled to find words to string together.

'Yes, terrible,' Mr. Weasley sighed, 'and immoral. But they do their job well. Take it very seriously... perhaps a little too seriously. You're only new in the Auror department, Tonks. If you want to be a good Auror one day, you'll meet a lot of people like them'

'It's hard to think that they're only sixteen,' Mrs. Weasley said sadly, 'so young, and already involved in a war.'

'We must remember that their world is different, Molly,' Mr. Weasley said, standing up to leave, 'if we think about it, it makes us appreciate what we already have.'

To Sirius' surprise, Lupin did not head towards the front door immediately, 'instead he cocked a finger, beckoning for him. He approached closer and together they found sanctuary in the kitchen, 'I'd like a word with you before I go,' he said quietly, 'though it is a message from Dumbledore, I agree to much of what he is saying.'

'What is it?' Sirius said.

'Firstly, don't leave Grimmauld place if you don't want to make things worse for the Order,' Lupin said.

'I already know that,' Sirius replied irritably, 'he doesn't have to keep telling me.'

Lupin sighed, 'The next point, he stresses very heavily,' he continued. 'Don't hate the ninjas.'

Sirius gave a grim laugh, 'How does he know what it's like? The rest of you can leave whenever you want- but me, I'm always stuck here in this godforsaken house, trapped with those backstabbing murderers, it's so-.'

'Sirius,' Lupin interrupted sharply, 'I know that they aren't the most likable people but you have to remember that they are human too. They are what they are because the world shaped them to be so... they are like the rest of us in many ways, adapting the best they can to their environment. Don't hate them for what they have developed into but pity those who cannot find peace in their hearts.'

There was a long moment where a rat scurried to safety somewhere above and the heavy pattering of footsteps as someone walked overhead. Sirius glanced up at the disturbance and muttered, 'I suppose you're right. I'll try but I can't promise anything.'

Lupin patted him on the shoulder in a signal of departure and left him alone in the kitchen with only the heavy footsteps of two people chasing each other.

Sirius smiled, Fred and George, he guessed. No sooner had he thought it though, the footsteps abruptly stopped, dropping an ominous blanket of silence in the dim kitchen.

line-line-line-line-line-line-line-line-line-line-line-line-line-line-line-line-line-line-line-line-line-line-line-line-line-line

Being captain was the most troublesome job, ever.

At first Stag thought it would be pretty easy to have so many ninjas to his disposal and so far, he didn't have to complete any of the missions himself but the excessive planning, the daily reports and the mountains of paperwork...

He would gladly exchange all the troublesome responsibilities for a first hand mission. At least he had Chouji with him when he was on a mission but now he was sitting alone in an admittedly comfortable room in a magical school that technically didn't exist, hundreds of kilometres away from home. Being captain was indeed troublesome. You had to play your pieces right.

A large white scroll lay unrolled in front of him, his hand dragging slowly across the fabric, marking a long black line with his brush, before writing the words, '_Swan __to __Grimmauld __Place_.' He paused on Chouji's dot at slowly wrote, '_Bear __to __Hogwarts __after __mission_.' He needed some company after all and Chouji had been working extra hard for the past few weeks- he deserved a break.

Mouse was currently located in a Muggle residence at London in an attempt to catch sight of Akatsuki but so far she had seemed unsuccessful. He wondered if it was a good idea to keep her there when was no suspicious activity in the results. _Mouse-__three __weeks __more __of __investigation __before __returning __to __Hogwarts_, he finally decided. Her teammates, Dog and Beetle were currently on a combined tracking mission with Swan and Bear, _Dog __and __Beetle __to __Hogwarts_, he wrote. There was no immediate starting points for Akatsuki or Voldemort yet unless the Death Eater Squad 7 captured proved to have any information regarding them. Though he highly doubted it, they had informed him of being lower ranked. What he really needed to get his hands on were Death Eaters from the Inner Circle. However that would be difficult to do.

Some of the Inner Circle were currently working for the British Ministry and held rather important, well respected positions in their work place. To report a disappearance would not only raise suspicion in the public, but also in the eyes of Voldemort and maybe Akatsuki if they were really working with him. A good number of the Inner Circle resided in Azkaban, the wizard prison- though he doubted they would currently have any idea where their master was. However it was worth a try, maybe they could get their hands on information about his previous hideouts. Sending ninjas to Azkaban would be unwise for he had little experience with the Dementors and he doubted they should be underestimated from their description. Besides, they hadn't developed any immediate strategies of defence for the foul creatures should they attack. Stag marked a big cross on his diagram of Azkaban and wrote, '_Insert __Order __members_' with a line for Dumbledore to fill out the names of the people he decided to select.

Stag struggled on what he should do with Squad 9. Implanting a ninja spy in the Ministry would be useful to keep an eye on the members of the Inner Circle like Lucius Malfoy. Turtle was too brash and loud for the job, he pondered a while on Panda but in the end decided to assign the task to Hawk. After all, he practically had eyes sticking out of the back of his head. So far, Bear, Dog, Beetle, Slug, Mouse and himself were the only ninjas planning to arrive at Hogwarts in the immediate month. Slug would have to return to assist Madam Pomfrey in medical duties and he had troublesome duties to fulfil as captain. Four ninjas. That was hardly enough to fill in both the day and night guarding schedule.

Stag drew a circle around the remaining ninjas, Fox, Raven, Panda and Turtle to return to Hogwarts for guard duty. That was eight ninjas to fill in the schedule. Not nearly enough as Hogwarts was a large place, stretching for many kilometres but Fox was very adept at creating hundreds of shadow clones so the problem could be easily fixed. The four ninjas were extremely talented in offensive attacks and would provide useful back up if an unexpected invasion occurred.

Stag slumped onto the table from his fatigue. His hand fumbled on the bottle of soldier pills but he was too tired to unscrew the bottle. When the lid finally clattered onto the table, he was long asleep. Stag's eyelids fluttered before sleep claimed its toll, the bottle slipped from his grasp and spilled the tiny black pills on the fluffy, white rug.

A loud pop aroused him from his nap and he opened his eyes reluctantly, 'Whose there?' he spoke in English in case it was another wizard, his hand immediately out of instinct reaching for his mask which lay on the beside him.

'_It__'__s __just __me, __Shikamaru __and __quit __the __fancy __talk, __I __was __never __good __at __English_,' a small turquoise tortoise said, clambering towards him, accidently knocking over a pile of scrolls. Stag rubbed his eyes and yawned, trying to feel more awake.

'_Hello __Kaimaru_,' he said, collecting the pills from the floor and placing them carefully back into the bottle. Fatigue still clung to his body and he decided to swallow one soldier pill- who cared about hygiene in this situation? '_Before __we __continue, __I __would __like __you __to __address __me __as __Stag __if __you __ever __want __to __refer __to __me __again_,' he said, '_Now, __you __have __a __message?_'

'_Yes,_' Kaimaru said, '_but __before __I __give __it __to __you,__I __want __a __nice, __warm __bed __with __a __hot __water __bottle __and __a __cup __of __warm __cocoa_.'

Stag's eyelid twitched in annoyance. For someone as energetic as Turtle, he sure had a lazy summon. He wondered if this was how people felt when they were dealing with him. '_Very __well,_' he sighed before crying sharply, 'Dobby!'

There was a loud crack and a small creature with large, green tennis ball sized eyes and a pointed nose appeared on the carpet. He was dressed in the oddest assortment of clothes Stag had ever seen and he had seen the way the wizards usually dressed. On the elf's head was a knobbly custard yellow woollen hat and a maroon jumper that was obviously several sizes too big hung off his tiny body in folds. He stumbled slightly in his two mismatched socks, one was green and the other lilac and judging by the giant bulge on his feet, he was probably wearing several layers underneath.

Dobby had been assigned by Dumbledore as the ninjas' personal house elf, much to the elf's delight. Dobby had taken a personal liking to them when he had first greeted him and burst into sudden tears when Stag had bowed to him. Startled, Stag stepped to one side, unsure of what he had done wrong. It took him a whole twenty minutes to recover, hiccupping that he had never been bowed to before by anyone and that he was too kind and honourable. Stag felt it was a bit of an overreaction and Dumbledore conveniently forgot to mention to the elf that it was a common greeting back in his country. How troublesome.

'Master Stag has summoned Dobby?' the elf squeaked, bowing deeply.

'Hello, Dobby,' Stag said briskly, 'I'd like you to prepare a hot water bottle and a cup of cocoa and I'd like it delivered immediately please.'

'Right away, sir!' the elf cried enthusiastically before disappearing with another crack.

Minutes later, a very happy Kaimaru lay cuddled up against a red water bottle on Stag's bed sheets, an empty mug of cocoa steamed slightly on the table. '_Well, __what__'__s __the __message?__'_ Stag asked impatiently. The tortoise was already half asleep.

'_Hmm?_' the tortoise mumbled sleepily, '_oh __yeah, __Turtle __wants __me __to __tell __you __that __there __are __books __about __the __culture __of __ninjas __in __the __Hogwarts __library. __There __are __also __many __of __them __residing __in __book __shops __all __over __England-__one __of __them __a __shop __called __Flourish __and __Blotts __in __Diagon __Alley. __He __is __awaiting __orders __to __assist __in __destroying __them_.'

'_Troublesome,_' Stag sighed. Just when he thought he had everything planned out, more problems just had to keep popping up. He unfurled his planning scroll and dipped his brush in the black ink, scribbling out several names here and there.

**I ****promise ****the ****hearing ****will ****occur ****in ****the ****next ****chapter. ****I ****feel ****like ****I****'****m ****dragging ****out ****the ****pre-Hogwarts ****arc ****for ****too ****long ****and ****I****'****m ****adding ****too ****many ****different ****occurrences ****in ****one ****tiny ****slot. ****What ****do ****you ****think? ****Also, ****recently ****the ****number ****of ****reviewers ****have ****decreased. ****Is ****it ****because ****my ****writing ****quality ****has ****gone ****down? ****Please ****be ****honest ****with ****me...**

**Yeah,****anyway,****review ****please,****and ****vote ****on ****my ****new ****poll!****Also, ****if ****you ****aren****'****t ****up ****to ****date ****with ****the ****Naruto ****chapters ****than ****please ****don****'****t ****continue ****reading ****this ****because *****SPOILER* ****Madara ****is ****dead!****He ****was ****brought ****back ****by ****Impure ****Resurrection ****which ****brings ****the ****question ****as ****to ****who ****the ****mysterious ****masked ****man ****really ****is. ****I****'****m ****pretty ****clueless ****but m****y****closest ****guess ****is ****Izuna ****or ****just ****a**** '****shell****' ****of ****Madara. ****What ****are ****your ****opinions, ****guys?**


	6. The Hearing

**Sorry about the long update. I actually wrote this chapter about five times but every time something happened to my computer and I lost the document so I was rather turned off from writing it for a while. This chapter has a little bit more text from the original book than I would've liked but please enjoy anyway!**

English

_Japanese/Foreign Language/Written Text_

'Speech'

The Hearing

Harry gasped; he could not help himself. The large dungeon he had entered was horribly familiar. He had not only seen it before, he had _been_here before: This was the place he had visited inside Dumbledore's Pensieve, the place where he had watched the Lestranges sentenced to life imprisonment in Azkaban. The walls were made of dark stone, dimly lit by torches. Empty benches rose on either side of him, but ahead, in the highest benches

of all, were many shadowy figures. They had been talking in low voices, but as the heavy door swung closed behind Harry an ominous silence fell. A cold male voice rang across the courtroom.

'You're late.'

'Sorry,' said Harry nervously. 'I-I didn't know the time had changed.'

'That is not the Wizengamot's fault,' said the voice. 'An owl was sent to you this morning. Take your seat.'

When Harry had seated himself hesitantly in the hard, stone chair, the attention was directed on the tall, dark haired young woman who had followed him into the courtroom. Harry thought that Panda looked rather funny and out of place with her mask off and dressed in semi-formal clothing that looked more suitable for office wear rather than battling. She had mentioned something about a transformation spell so Harry knew that the pretty, porcelain face he was staring at was not her true appearance but it was still rather strange to actually see a face at all after weeks of being confronted with that intimidating mask every time he turned to talk to her.

'And you are?'

'Ann. Ann Callaghan,' Panda said, lowering her head into a respectable bow. Her head was low enough to show enough politeness though the bow was still stiff as if she had purposefully avoided stooping too low in a sign of inferiority. 'I am witness to Mr. Harry Potter's defence,' she said formally.

'Witness?' the voice repeated coldly, 'Miss Callaghan, was it? I'll have you wait outside until Mr. Potter, here has finished talking. We will call you in if further questioning is necessary.'

'Of course,' Panda said. Harry's stomach tightened as the clicking of her high heels grew more distant until she was out of the room. The door snapped back into its frame with a loud bang that brought Harry back to reality. With Panda out of the room, Harry felt what little confidence he had going down the drain.

'You are Harry James Potter, of number four, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey?' Fudge said, glaring at Harry over the top of his parchment.

'Yes, ' Harry said. He had an itchy feeling that Panda was still listening in on the court from outside the door.

'You received an official warning from the Ministry for using illegal magic three years ago, did you not?'

'Yes, but -'

'And yet you conjured a Patronus on the night of the second of August?' said Fudge.

'Yes, ' said Harry, 'but -'

'Knowing that you are not permitted to use magic outside school while you are under the age of seventeen?'

'Yes, but -'

'Knowing that you were in an area full of Muggles?'

'Yes, but -'

'Fully aware that you were in close proximity to a Muggle at the time?'

'Yes, ' said Harry angrily, 'but I only used it because we were -'

The witch with the monocle cut across him in a booming voice. 'You produced a fully-fledged Patronus?'

'Yes, ' said Harry, 'because -'

'A corporeal Patronus?'

'A - what?' said Harry.

'Your Patronus had a clearly defined form? I mean to say, it was more than vapour or smoke?'

'Yes, ' said Harry, feeling both impatient and slightly desperate, 'it's a stag, it's always a stag.'

'Always?' boomed Madam Bones. 'You have produced a Patronus before now?'

'Yes, ' said Harry, 'I've been doing it for over a year. '

'And you are fifteen years old?'

'Yes, and -'

'You learned this at school?'

'Yes, Professor Lupin taught me in my third year, because of the -'

'Impressive, ' said Madam Bones, 'a true Patronus at his age, very impressive indeed.'

Some of the wizards and witches around her were muttering again; a few nodded, but others were frowning and shaking their heads.

'It's not a question of how impressive the magic was, ' said Fudge in a testy voice, 'in fact, the more impressive the worse it is, I would have thought, given that the boy did it in plain view of a Muggle!'Those who had been frowning now murmured in agreement, but it was the sight of Percy's sanctimonious little nod that goaded Harry into speech.

'I did it because of the Dementors!' he said loudly, before anyone could interrupt him again.

Silence immediately descended like a heavy blanket, muffling out every last mumbling witch and wizard. Harry lifted his head and looked defiantly up into the sharp gaze of Madam Bones, his eye twitched as Fudge scoffed.

'Dementors?' Madam Bones questioned, her eyebrows diving somewhere deep into her hairline, 'what do you mean, boy?'

'I mean there were two dementors that attacked me and my cousin in the alleyway!' Harry said.

'Dementors in Little Whinging? I don't understand,' Madam Bones looked very surprised.

'Don't you, Amelia?' Fudge said, an unpleasant smirk plastered on his face for the entire Wizengamot to see, as if inviting them in on the joke. 'He's been thinking it through and decided that it would be a very good cover up story, very good indeed... Muggles can't see Dementors can they? Yes, very convenient...'

'I'm not lying!' Harry said, triggering another outbreak of muttering, 'I-I have a witness! Call Pa-I mean, Miss Callaghan in, please! She'll tell you.'

Fudge's face purpled very unpleasantly from holding his breath too long until it was roughly the shade of a red onion. Before he could answer, Madam Bones cut across him, 'Yes, please send the girl back in.'

'Oh alright,' Fudge snapped and turned to Percy, 'Weasley, go and get her at once.'

XxX

Panda disliked leaving her charge alone to fend for himself in a room of old fashioned, clearly prejudiced witches and wizards however she couldn't do anything without blowing her cover or rousing suspicion. Instead, she chose to remain at a distance where she could still hear the conversation inside clearly without looking like an eavesdropper. Her eyes fell on a tall, slim blonde haired man standing a small distance away from her. He was dressed in expensive looking black robes and smelt heavily of old books and money. She frowned in suspicion, watching him cautiously out of the corner of her eyes and noticed that though the wizard was gazing determinedly at a crack in the wall, every few seconds he would turn to gaze at her when he thought she wasn't looking.

'Excuse me, Miss... It's rude to stare,' the man said suddenly. For once, Panda swivelled her entire head around to give him a cheerful smile that she hoped wasn't too forced, considering the state of the situation.

'I'm sorry, I wasn't aware that I was staring at you,' Panda said in an air of professional politeness, 'also, I would say the same thing to you, sir. It isn't a good habit to discard the practices that you preach.'

Instead of looking displeased at her blunt approach of his actions, the man's pale lips widened slightly so that they remained in a demented transition between a smirk and the beginnings of a smile. 'I apologise. I am simply curious as to how an unidentified person managed to fool the security of the Ministry of Magic.'

_He __knows_, Panda thought grimly. Her arm twitched, aching to grab several of the poison tipped senbon needles she had managed to hide in her hair. The man was only a wizard; if she could take out his wand arm then he could easily be at her mercy. However, he appeared to make no movement for his right pocket where he no doubt kept his wand. The man was evidently more powerful than the average wizard. There was something in the way he moved and how his cold grey eyes analysed her physical appearance in a calculating manner. He was trying to read her mind, to trigger a reaction. _I __have __to __play __it __cool_, Panda thought, _I __have __to __pretend __that __his __words __did __not __bother __me_.

'I'm afraid, I have no idea what you're talking about, sir,' Panda replied courteously.

'Ah. You aren't fooling anyone, ninja,' the blonde man smirked, 'I have encountered some of your petty illusional techniques before and I must say that there are some significant loopholes.'

_Dammit!_ Panda swore. He had folded his arms carelessly. How insulting. Clearly, he did not think of her as a threat. Oh, how wrong he was!

'If you don't mind me asking,' Panda said, impressed that despite the torrent of unease unfolding itself in her mind, she still managed to keep her voice blank, 'who are you?'

'Lucius Malfoy at your service,' Lucius replied. He carried a haughty air that suggested that he held quite a large amount of power, was used to handling it and had no problems with misusing it.

'Miss Callaghan,' Panda said, her back instinctively beginning to bend into a bow. She quickly stopped herself before the action became more prominent and hoped that Mr. Malfoy had not noticed. 'I am quite impressed that you noticed. Often only the most experienced of us can see through even petty illusions so I congratulate you.'

'No need,' Lucius gave her an icily cold chuckle, 'I thought it was illegal to listen in on a hearing you are not invited to?'

_So __he__'__s __realised __that __too_, Panda thought bitterly, 'Ah, but Mr. Malfoy, I think I've advised you before to practice what you preach?' She gave a tinkering warning laugh and Lucius frowned.

'I am waiting for somebody.'

'For someone who is simply waiting for someone to arrive, you are standing quite conveniently close to the door,' Panda pointed out politely.

Lucius scowled and backed a few steps away until he stood even further away from the door than she did. Panda gave him an approving grin just as the heavy wooden door burst open. She caught sight of tufts of fiery red hair and a panting face that clearly showed that the kid had practically tripped over himself just to get to the door. Percy's jaw hardened on sight of her and did not speak a word. Instead he turned and walked back inside, his actions clearly asking her to follow.

Panda cast Mr. Malfoy one last glance before disappearing after him. She waited for her eyes to adjust to the light and walked up until she was standing once again in front of Harry. Percy drew his wand and drew a rectangular prism with it. Moments later, a hard backed wooden chair dropped onto the stone floor with a hard clatter.

'Miss Callaghan was it?' Madam Bones said in her booming voice, 'please sit.'

Panda sat, careful to keep her legs shut. With her profession, Panda had rarely worn a dress or a skirt and sometimes it was difficult to remember that such elegant, formal clothing did not provide as much freedom as pants. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see that Harry was staring at her, desperately wanting to confirm that he was in safe hands. She gave him a split second's smile that she hoped that no one noticed but by the way Fudge's lip thinned, he had definitely caught onto it.

'Miss Callaghan,' Madam Bones said, her hands banging the edges of several sheets against the top of her stand to straighten them into neat lines, 'I have asked several of my assistants to look through your profile. You are an Irish Auror residing in an estate in Dublin, unmarried though living with a boyfriend. Am I correct?'

'Yes,' Panda confirmed. The court couldn't accuse her of forging the profile card especially since she had specially managed to scrounge it from a real, existing witch. Her transformation technique was perfect... or near perfect but it was good enough that she hadn't roused any suspicions with the Wizengamot yet.

'And what brings you to England, Miss Callaghan? What exactly were you doing at Little Whinging on the twelfth of August? We have looked through your files and we did not find any particular connection you have to the area.'

'I'll be frank with you, Madam,' Panda said, 'Professor Dumbledore had called me all the way from Dublin as a guard as he was-err-a little displeased with your Ministry's reaction to the return of V- You-know-who and there was a lacking of British Aurors who would cooperate,' she quickly corrected herself.

Fudge spluttered, his face turning a wonderful shade of scarlet, 'So the Irish Ministry has chosen to believe in that nonsense that the senile old fool fed them?'

'Oh no, Minister,' Panda replied calmly, 'only a select few. The entire Irish Ministry is still determinedly sticking to their land so for the time being Voldemort does not concern them as long as he does not attempt to seize control of Ireland's power. However, I am not here to discuss politics, Minister. That, I can do happily with you over a cup of tea after the hearing. I believe I am here to defend Mr. Harry Potter?'

The Wizengamot fell into silence as Fudge gave Panda an even more intense glare than Harry had ever experienced throughout the hearing. Harry must admit that Panda was a lot cleverer than he had first anticipated. He had always known that the ninjas were highly intelligent but to be able to pull off a false role that could fool hundreds of the Ministry's oldest, most experienced wizards... he was impressed to say the least.

'Please continue,' Madam Bones said, effectively breaking the silence.

'Yes, Madam,' Panda bowed, 'Under Professor Dumbledore's orders, I was assigned to guard Harry that night. I did not make my presence known but Harry seemed to notice that he was being followed because he tried to evade me. Naturally, I was able to catch up on him within a short period of time but this was an extremely unreliable routine as even if only for a few minutes, I was still leaving him unguarded. This was very stressful on my part as I tried to keep him in sight at all times until he reached Magnolia Crescent where he just disappeared. I quickly caught up with him but when I turned the corner, I began to feel cold which was really strange since it was a really humid summer night. And then I saw them...,' Panda said, biting her lip and shivering.

Harry thought it was a really realistic act, 'I remembered horrible things...,' she stuttered, still shivering, 'they were two, tall black cloaked figures bearing down upon Harry and another boy who I assume is his cousin. Like any normal person, I was terrified and it took me a while to gather my senses back to the present. By then, Harry had already cast his Patronus before I could stop him and it sent the Dementors away...

'It became warm again and I saw Harry and the other boy collapse down on the pavement. I ran out to see if they were alright but Harry was naturally startled from the event and attempted to Stun me.'

Madam Bones continued to scrutinise her with a frown as she finished. 'So that is your story. You may go,' she said finally. Panda stood and bowed before exiting through the door once more.

'Not a very convincing witness,' Fudge said loftily.

'Oh, I don't know, Cornelius, she certainly described the effects of a dementor very accurately-,' Madam Bones began but she was cut off as the heavy wooden door creaked open. A tall, dark haired young man walked in stiffly. He was dressed in a very elegant formal suit and tie and he carried a demanding air of power.

'Who are you?' Madam Bones boomed, 'state you business or I will be forced to throw you out of the courtroom.'

The man smirked, a very familiar smirk that made Harry's skin crawl and heart lighten at the same time. 'Mr. Potter's lawyer.' He knew that voice... and those familiar pale grey eyes...

'Mr. Potter's lawyer? We had not been pre-informed that Me. Potter had hired anyone of that sort,' Madam Bones said sternly, 'please leave at once before I throw you out.'

'I am here to represent Professor Dumbledore who was unable to make it today,' Hawk said, 'he asks me to give the Wizengamot his deepest apologies and that I, Nate Hughes will replace his position instead.'

'Mr. Hughes, you are very late behind schedule,' Madam Bones said sternly, 'I'm afraid that you may not be able to speak for Mr. Potter. We have sent a letter to Professor Dumbledore of the change in times for the hearing and if he does not make an effort to show up on time then the consequences will be faced.'

'If you will forgive me for being frank, Madam Bones,' Hawk said, his smirk only growing smugger, 'I do not believe that such a letter was sent in the first place. It is under my impression that the Wizengamot purposely changed the time without informing us, under a pretence that they have sent a letter to us so that Harry and I would be late and receive a bad first impression. Am I correct?'

Some members of the Wizengamot coughed uncomfortably and Harry found himself mentally screaming at Hawk. _Stop __being __so __straight__forward __you __dumbass!__Now __they__'__ll __never __let __me __off._

'Mr. Hughes, was it?' Fudge sneered, looking very much like he'd swallowed a particularly sour grapefruit whole, 'I'm afraid that we'll have to throw you o-.'

'No,' Madam Bones said sharply, 'I would like him to stay.'

'Excellent,' Hawk said, rubbing his hands in a fashion that reminded Harry of a greedy business man. 'I have analysed the situation thoroughly in the short notice I was given. It is to my understanding that Mr. Potter here is being accused of performing magic illegally outside of school in the presence of a Muggle?'

'That is correct.'

'I see. Two spells in fact... a Patronus Charm and a Stunning Spell- am I correct?' Hawk said.

'Yes,' Madam Bones said, 'Please get to the point.'

'Why, Madam... both the Patronus Charm and the Stunning Spell are spells used in the face of defence, yes? Are they not both interesting choices for spells to show to a Muggle? Had Harry simply wanted to show off, a foolish decision, then it is quite coincidental that the spells he chose to show were spells both used for defence. If the existence of a menace is not considered, then I am intrigued as to why Mr. Potter would've chosen to cast those spells in the first place. Do you not agree Madam Bones?'

Madam Bones looked thoughtful, 'That is a very good point,' she said.

'N-Nonsense! There are no Dementors outside Ministry control!' Fudge spat angrily.

'Ah, but sir, then I politely ask that you tighten your level of control on the Dementors or ask yourself why some corrupt Ministry official has decided to eliminate a so called threat to the magical government's image using illegal methods,' Hawk said coolly.

In the complete silence that greeted these words, the witch to the right of Fudge leaned forwards so that Harry saw her for the first time. He thought she looked just like a large, pale toad. She was rather squat with a broad, flabby face, as little neck as Uncle Vernon and a very wide, slack mouth. Her eyes were large, round and slightly bulging. Even the little black velvet bow perched on top of her short curly hair put him in mind of a large fly she was about to catch on a long sticky tongue. The Chair recognizes Dolores Jane Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister, ' said Fudge.

The witch spoke in a fluttery, girlish, high-pitched voice that took Harry aback; he had been expecting a croak. 'I'm sure I must have misunderstood you, Mr. Hughes, ' she said, with a simper that left her big, round eyes as cold as ever. 'So silly of me. But it sounded for a teensy moment as though you were suggesting that the Ministry of Magic had ordered an attack on this boy!' She gave a silvery laugh that made the hairs on the back of Harry's neck stand up. A few other members of the Wizengamot laughed with her. It could not have been plainer that not one of them was really amused.

Hawk's smirk widened into a creepy grin, 'you are not mistaken, Ms Umbridge,' he said politely, 'I am indeed accusing the Ministry for the attack on Mr. Potter. I believe that the culprit lies somewhere within the Ministry and I strongly advise you, Minister Fudge that you make an attempt to set things straight without letting your emotions run away with you. However, I must remind us all once again that we are not here to discuss who the culprit is but rather if Mr. Potter here is guilty or not. I have argued the case I was paid to argue and now Mr. Potter only awaits his verdict.'

If looks could kill then Hawk would've long since evaporated under Fudge's hateful glare. Harry bit his lip and stared nervously at Hawk for reassurance. Unfortunately, Hawk didn't seem to be as emotionally considerate as Panda was because he refused to look at him. Harry looked at his feet as the entire Wizengamot dissolved into urgent whispered conversations. He thought that he had definitely not made the best impression. It was mostly Panda and Hawk who had spoken. _They_had played what ought to be his part and though they played it well, he disliked the idea of actually being indebted to the ninjas. Though Panda was definitely the most bearable ninja so far, she was still a killer. And to actually think that he owed them a favour made Harry's stomach roll over uneasily.

Then the whispering stopped. Harry wanted to look up at the judges, but found that it was really much, much easier to keep examining his laces. Those in favour of clearing the witness of all charges?' said Madam Bones' booming voice. Harry's head jerked upwards. There were hands in the air, many of them: more than half! Breathing very fast, he tried to count, but before he could finish, Madam Bones had said, 'And those in favour of conviction?'Fudge raised his hand; so did half a dozen others, including the witch on his right and the heavily-mustached wizard and the frizzy-haired witch in the second row.

Fudge glanced around at them all, looking as though there was something large stuck in his throat, then lowered his own hand. He took two deep breaths and said, in a voice distorted by suppressed rage, 'Very well, very well-cleared of all charges.'

XxX

Hawk stalked out of the courtroom before Harry could gather his senses to thank him. Stunned, Harry sat a few more seconds before standing awkwardly and took a few experimental steps to see if his legs were still capable of walking. Then he ran, ran the rest of the way towards the door, flung it open and almost crashed into Mr. Weasley who was standing just outside it.

'Cleared, ' Harry said, pulling the door closed behind him, 'of all charges!'

Beaming, Mr. Weasley seized Harry by the shoulders. 'Harry, that's wonderful! Well, of course, they couldn't have found you guilty, not on the evidence, but even so, I can't pretend I wasn't -,'But Mr. Weasley broke off, because the courtroom door had just opened again. The Wizengamot were filing out. 'Merlin's beard!' exclaimed Mr. Weasley wonderingly, pulling Harry aside to let them all pass. 'You were tried by the full court?'

'I think so, ' said Harry quietly. One or two of the wizards nodded to Harry as they passed and a few, including Madam Bones, said, 'Morning, Arthur, ' to Mr. Weasley, but most averted their eyes.

Cornelius Fudge and the toad like witch were almost the last to leave the dungeon. Fudge acted as though Mr. Weasley and Harry were part of the wall, but again, the witch looked almost appraisingly at Harry as she passed.

Last of all to pass was Percy. Like Fudge, he completely ignored his father and Harry; he marched past clutching a large roll of parchment and a handful of spare quills, his back rigid and his nose in the air. The lines around Mr. Weasley's mouth tightened slightly, but other than this he gave no sign that he had seen his third son. 'I'm going to take you straight back so you can tell the others the good news, ' he said, before pointing at Panda and Hawk, still in their disguises. They stood a little further away having a whispered conversation in their own language. Panda seemed to be doing most of the talking but both of them were looking equally concerned.

'You should go and thank them,' Mr. Weasley said, patting Harry's shoulder, 'go on.'

Harry walked towards them, his head high. He didn't like the ninjas much but it was only right that he should thank them. He would feel bad if he didn't. 'Excuse me,' he said. Hawk looked annoyed at the interruption but Panda immediately hoisted up a smile.

'Yes, Potter-san?'

So they were going back to using the traditional Japanese honorifics, huh? Harry admitted that he preferred it this way. Honestly, he had grown used to be called "san" by the ninjas and suddenly being addressed as Mr. Potter sounded weird. 'Um- I'd just like to tell you guys, thanks for helping me,' he said quickly. Harry sighed when they continued to stare at him blankly and he hesitated before taking his right hand out of his pockets and shoved it forward.

Panda stared at it for a few seconds before shaking it twice. It was a brief, awkward handshake but a handshake none the less. He turned his gaze to Hawk who gave him a _I__'__m-too-cool-for-handshakes __glare_. 'Don't mention it, Potter-san,' Panda said, 'we were just doing our job.'

'But still… I'm grateful,' Harry said.

Panda sighed. 'OK. Thanks taken, now let's head back.'

**POLL RESULTS ARE OUT WITH NEW POLL TO VOTE ON! This time the question is : What is your favorite kind of review? Please check it out on my profile page!**

**Yes, the ninjas aren't completely cold. Panda is one of the kinder ninjas after all. I doubt that she would always be cold towards Harry and his friends and even Raven, whose actually a real softie underneath is human sometimes. Anyway, heading back to China on the 31st! New Year's Eve! It's going to be really cold there in Beijing. I'm Chinese… so yeah… anyways, Happy Christmas and err- actually that's wrong but who cares! Merry New Year!**

**Don't forget to review alright guys? I can't get very far without your reviews to drive me on. Thanks to everyone who did review, especially the regulars though I have been losing some regulars lately. Don't know why but it doesn't matter as long as you review now! Yes, review!**


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